HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (9-8, 5-4 SAC) complete the first half of the South Atlantic Conference schedule with a weekend trip to play a pair of 2013 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional participants, traveling to South Carolina to face Newberry (9-8, 3-6 SAC) and Anderson (13-4, 6-3 SAC). Lincoln Memorial squares off against the Wolves in Newberry, S.C. Friday evening at 7 p.m. before capping the weekend in Anderson, S.C. versus the Trojans Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
The overarching theme of the Lady Railsplitters' season has been the search for consistency in the attack. In last Saturday's 3-1 triumph over the Coker Cobras, LMU terminated at a season-best .297 clip, the fourth time in a six-match stretch in which the Lady Railsplitters finished above the .200 mark. The Lady Railsplitters followed that up with a .080 effort - their second-lowest hitting percentage of the season - in a straight-set loss to Carson-Newman on Tuesday. Through 17 matches, the Lady Railsplitters have compiled a cumulative .201 hitting percentage in winning efforts while struggling with a .140 clip in losses.
 
It's been a rollercoaster season for the Newberry Wolves, who opened with a 6-1 mark before riding out a five-match losing streak from September 13-23. The Wolves seem to have leveled out in recent weeks, improving to 3-2 in their last five appearances. Newberry topped Queens and Catawba last weekend, but dropped a straight-set decision to Anderson Tuesday.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will be greeted by a Newberry defense that leads the South Atlantic Conference in block assists (209), total blocks (134) and blocks per set (2.17) while ranking third with 30 solo stonewalls. The Wolves are hitting .173 as a team with an average of 11.87 kills per set. Despite producing the third-most service aces among SAC schools with 97, Newberry has accounted for the second-most service errors with 121 blunders.
 
Outside hitter Logan Hayward, right side Amanda Soper and middle blocker Jessica King lead the Newberry attack and present a productive hitter at every level of the front row. Hayward has produced 2.42 kills per set, 150 total kills and a .168 attack percentage, while Soper has nearly identical numbers with 2.27 kills per set, 141 total terminations and a .179 hitting clip. King's stat ledger shows 1.98 kills a frame and 123 total on a .281 attack percentage. Among players with at least 100 attempts, middle blocker Alexus Horton paces the Wolves with a .297 attacking clip. Three different players are currently contributing more than four assists per set, but Rachel Moran leads that group with 5.84 per and 327 total. Elayni Stokes has accounted for a team-best 5.47 digs per set.
 
The Lady Railsplitters hold a 14-5 edge all-time against Newberry, but the two programs have split their regular-season series in each of the past two seasons. Lincoln Memorial stole a 3-1 win in Newberry last season before the Wolves returned the favor with a 3-2 win in Harrogate a little over a month later.
 
The Anderson Trojans boast one of the more efficient attacking units in the SAC, holding a cumulative .218 hitting percentage through 17 matches. Anderson has surpassed the .250 mark nine times this season including a .352 clip in a win over Lees-McRae as well as a .478 mark in a straight-set triumph over Coker. Like Newberry, the Trojans present a formidable defensive front, trailing only the Wolves for the league lead in block assists (198), total blocks (123) and blocks per set (2.12). All told, Anderson has accumulated an average of 12.47 kills per set.
 
Seniors Hailey Pittman and Shannon Gillespie are two of the most productive attacking players in the South Atlantic Conference. Pittman is third in the league in both total kills (188) and kills per set (3.36), and she has accounted for those numbers while leading the SAC in overall hitting percentage with an incredible .431 mark, the fourth-highest hitting percentage in all of the NCAA Division II. Gillespie has posted 2.36 kills per set, 150 total and a .150 attack percentage. Freshman Marissa Mitter has backed that duo with 1.82 kills per set and 100 total. The Trojans have gone forward with a two-setter system with Priscilla Irizarry (5.98 kills per set, 341 total) and Tatianna Grodecky (3.98 kills per set, 219 total) running the show. Alix Hooker leads the Trojans with 5.16 digs per set.
 
Two of the Trojans' three South Atlantic Conference losses have needed five sets to decide, but all six of their league victories have been finished off in straight sets. Anderson dropped a surprising 3-2 decision to Queens last Saturday before rebounding with a 3-0 win over Newberry Tuesday.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 11-2 all-time against Anderson, but three of the last four head-to-head encounters have gone the distance. Lincoln Memorial fell in five sets in Anderson, S.C. a season ago before withstanding 44 combined kills by Pittman and Gillespie to claw out a 3-2 win in Harrogate.
 
Lincoln Memorial aims to break through the imposing defensive units of Newberry and Anderson with freshman Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.), sophomore Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) and graduate student MaRanda Boddie (Springfield, Ohio). Holland leads the Lady Railsplitters with 194 total kills (second in the SAC) and 3.08 kills per set. Fleeman has contributed 2.46 kills per set and 155 total, while Boddie needs only six kills to reach 100 for the season. The Springfield, Ohio native and former women's basketball player averages 1.74 kills per set. Sophomore Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) dictates the offense with 8.78 assists per set and 571 total, while Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) is the defensive leader with 4.42 digs each stanza.
 
The Lady Railsplitters open the weekend against Newberry on Friday at 7 p.m. in Newberry, S.C. before closing it out versus the Trojans in Anderson, S.C. at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Friday vs. Newberry
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Saturday vs. Anderson
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