HARROGATE, Tenn. - The Daemen College men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (16-25, 16-25, 13-25) loss to top-seeded Lincoln Memorial University here tonight in the semifinal round of the Independent Volleyball Association Tournament. The host Railsplitters improved to 17-7 on the year and advance to face Queens University of Charlotte in tomorrow's championship match. Queens advanced with a 3-1 win over Coker College (S.C.) in the other semifinal match. Daemen, which dropped to 6-16 in its inaugural season, will face Coker in the tournament consolation match tomorrow at 11 a.m.

This year marks the third year of the IVA Tournament. The inaugural tournament was hosted by Coker in 2017 and Alderson Broaddus University claimed the inaugural title. Last year Alderson Broaddus served as the tournament host and Lincoln Memorial won the title after defeating Queens in the semifinals and Coker in the championship.

LMU wasted no time taking control in game one tonight, as the Railsplitters scored seven of the first eight points and later took a 12-4 lead following back-to-back service aces by junior Evan Cory. The lead was 19-6 when the Wildcats rallied with a 7-2 run. Back-to-back kills by freshmen Jahari Winkfield (Oswego, Ill.) and Kyle Kon (Oswego, N.Y.) capped the run and cut the LMU lead to 21-13. The teams traded points the rest of the game. Game two was a back-and-fourth affair early on and LMU held an 11-8 lead when the hosts strung together a 7-3 spurt that gave them an 18-11 lead. Daemen came no closer than six points down the stretch. Daemen held a 2-1 lead in game three before the Railsplitters took control with an 11-1 run. Daemen responded with a 9-5 run that cut the lead to five points, 17-12, but the Wildcats managed just one point the rest of the way.

Kon registered a team-high seven kills for the Wildcats, while fellow freshmen Jesse Donorovich (Lockport, N.Y.) and Winkfield added six and five kills respectively. Freshman Michael Krueger (Canonsburg, Pa.) registered 22 assists and eight digs.

Cory totaled 11 kills with just one attack error for the Railsplitters. Cory, who was named the 2019 Off The Block Independent Teams Player of the Year earlier this week, also contributed five service aces and six blocks. Sophomore A.J. Risavy dished out 29 assists for the hosts, while sophomore Logan Kerley added six kills and six digs.

Daemen officials announced the addition of men's volleyball in May of 2017. The addition was made possible by a $60,000 grant from the MotorMVB Foundation.  The MotorMVB Foundation (www.MotorMVB.com) is a non-profit organization that focuses on the growth of boys' and men's volleyball at all levels in the United States. Daemen became just the 27th National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II men's volleyball program in the country when it made the announcement, and the only Division II team North of the Mason-Dixon Line.

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