HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Miners played their final match of the season today, dropping it in straight sets to Lincoln Memorial University. They were close to taking set two, down by only one point in the final moments of the set before the Railsplitters went on a three-point run to take the set.
Set 1:
The Miners either led or were tied with the Railsplitters in the first ten points, but a four-point run by LMU gave the home team a 7-5 lead. S&T would take three of the next four points, which included a kill for
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) and an ace for
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey), to tie the game at 8-all. Lincoln Memorial would go on 4-1, 4-0, and 5-1 runs in the subsequent points to put them up 22-13. The Miners would bounce back by taking three of the next four points, the last of which came off an ace by
Camden Seaver (Palatine, IL/William Friend), before giving up the last two points to lose the set.
Set 2:
Set two started bleakly, with the Railsplitters grabbing an early 8-2 lead.
Tyler Johnwick (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) led the team back though, recording two kills and an ace as the Miners went on a 7-2 run to close the gap to just one point. The teams traded 3-1 runs in the ensuing points, with the Railsplitters maintaining at least a one-point lead. Down 17-15, the Miners grabbed two points in a row to tie the set for the first time since 0-0. LMU would answer by taking four of the next five points, bringing the score to 21-18 in the Railsplitters favor. The Miners continued to battle though, with back-to-back kills by
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) bringing them back within one point of LMU at 22-21 before the Railsplitters went on a 3-0 run to win set two.
Set 3:
Set three started with the Railsplitters putting a few runs together early again, going up 13-7. The teams got stuck trading serves for a while, pushing the score up to 16-11. The Miners won the next point off a double block by
Zachary Carff (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) and Johnwick but lost five of the next six as the Railsplitters extended their lead to eight. The Miners bounced back by taking four of the next five points but dropped three in a row as the Railsplitters closed out the set 25-17.
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) led the team in kills today, recording eight.
Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) recorded four blocks in the match, increasing his program record blocks in a season to 59, fifteen more than the record he set last year. Carff had thee blocks of his own, a personal high for blocks in a game.
The Miners end their 2024 season with a 10-12 record.
