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Middle attacker Pedro Carvalho delivered in the biggest moment en route to having the best serving performance in college men’s volleyball during the last eight years.
Carvalho had five consecutive aces in the fifth game and finished the decisive game with six aces to help Lincoln Memorial beat King 23-25, 21-25, 25-13, 25-20, 15-10 on Friday in Harrogate, Tennessee.
The senior led all players with a school record 11 aces in Railsplitters’ two-game comeback victory versus their in-state rival. This was the most aces for a player in a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball match since former USC outside attacker Tony Ciarelli had 11 aces in a conference victory against Long Beach State in 2012.
Carvalho entered this match with 15 aces in the team’s first 10 matches of the season. He also never had more than four aces in a single-match during his four-year college career.
Along with his serving against King, Carvalho had seven kills and zero errors on a .538 attack percentage.
Carvalho was one of four Railsplitters to have at least five kills as Lincoln Memorial out-hit King .385 to .239. Opposite Evan Cory led Lincoln Memorial with 17 kills and added four aces, while outside attacker Johansen Negron had 10 kills along with three aces.
Lincoln Memorial finished with a season-high 19 aces — 11 more aces than King.
Opposite Diego Marcano had a match-high 21 kills in the loss that ended the Tornado’s five-match winning streak.
This is the second consecutive victory for Lincoln Memorial in the in-state rivalry series. King opened the series winning the first five matches before suffering a three-game road loss to Lincoln Memorial last season.