HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Riding a three-match winning streak and with hopes of bolstering their chance at making a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Railsplitters (7-6) travel to the Palmetto State this weekend for the Peach Belt/South Atlantic Conference Challenge.
 
Lincoln Memorial opens the weekend set in Greenwood, S.C. on Friday with matches against Francis Marion (2 p.m.) and Lander (5 p.m.) before heading to Aiken, S.C. for a rematch with the USC Aiken Pacers at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are undoubtedly playing their best volleyball of the season after completing a five-match homestand with a 4-1 record following Tuesday's absolutely dominant 3-0 win over Mars Hill. In that contest, Lincoln Memorial hit .259 with a season-low nine attack errors while limiting the Lions to a meager 16 kills and a -.097 attacking clip. That was the fifth-fewest kills for an LMU opponent since 2005 and the first time the Lady Railsplitters have forced an opponent into a negative attack percentage since 2011.
 
Inefficiencies on offense plagued the Lady Railsplitters through the first month of the season, but those problems seem to have been sorted out. Through the first eight matches of the season, Lincoln Memorial hit above .190 just one time, in a five-set win over 25th-ranked Armstrong. In the five matches since September 25, the Lady Railsplitters have hit better than .190 four times. That includes a .271 mark against Newberry last Saturday and a .259 clip against Mars Hill. Additionally, LMU has not had more than 20 attack errors in three consecutive matches after having 20-plus miscues in nine straight contests.
 
Junior setter Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio), who leads the team with 9.69 assists per set, has spread the wealth offensively, as the Lady Railsplitters have four different players averaging more than two kills per set. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) leads the team with 2.64 kills per set on a .196 attack percentage, while Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) is right behind her with 2.62 kills per. Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) and Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) are adding 2.06 and 2.02 kills per set respectively.
 
Senior outside Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) enters the weekend within 100 kills of overtaking the program's career record for digs. She has 1,644 total scoops, which is 86 away from tying Amanda Horenkamp's all-time record.
 
Live stat links will be available for all three weekend matches at www.LMURailsplitters.com. The matches against Lander and USC Aiken are being video streamed, and those links can also be found at www.LMURailsplitters.com. Fans can also follow updates on the official LMU Athletics Twitter page (@LMURailsplitter).
 
Know the Opponents - PBC/SAC Challenge
 
Francis Marion - Friday at 2 p.m. (Greenwood, S.C.) – Live Stats
 
With losses in three of their last four matches, the Patriots find themselves in a tie for seventh place in the Peach Belt standings with a 3-4 conference record and a 9-6 overall mark. Francis Marion has played two South Atlantic Conference schools this season, as they defeated Mars Hill in four sets and lost to Newberry in five frames. Most recently, the Patriots were handed a 3-0 loss by USC Aiken in a match in which they hit .090 and mustered just 24 kills.
 
Those numbers are not indicative of how Francis Marion has played for the majority of this season, though, as the Patriots are hitting .213 and amassing 12.09 kills per set while holding opposing offenses to a .164 hitting percentage. They have posted an attack percentage above .200 in 10 of their 15 matches this season and frustrated foes with a defense that averages 2.05 blocks per set. Moreover, Francis Marion averages over an ace and a half per set, but they have also committed 115 service miscues, the second-highest mark in the Peach Belt Conference.
 
The Patriots are led by a veteran trio accounting for over two kills per set apiece. Junior middle Caroline Boone is churning out 2.43 kills per set on a .285 attack percentage to go along with 1.13 blocks per set, which ranks second in the PBC. Senior outside hitter Alexzandra Reed is putting up 2.38 kills per set with a .169 attacking clip and 2.45 digs per frame, while junior outside Carlie Smith is hitting .249 and producing 2.20 kills per set. Freshman Georgia Garrison has also made an immediate impact with 2.13 kills and 3.04 digs per set. 
 
Freshman Carrie McGinnis and junior Samantha Hinrichs operate the Patriots' two-setter system, averaging 4.98 and 4.80 assists per set respectively. Shelbi Meek has a team-best 4.15 digs per frame.
 
Entering the third all-time head-to-head meeting, the Lady Railsplitters and Francis Marion are split at one win apiece in the series. The Patriots won the initial match by four sets in 2009, while Lincoln Memorial returned the favor with a five-set win in 2012. Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) and Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) are the only current players on the roster to appear in that contest, as Oates had six kills and Mense led the team with 17 digs.
 
Lander - Friday at 5 p.m. (Greenwood, S.C.) – Live Stats | Video
 
The Bearcats have certainly put themselves in position to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament through the first half of the season. With wins in eight of the last 10 games, Lander is sitting alone in third place in the PBC standings with a 5-2 league record and a 15-4 overall mark. 13 of the Bearcats' 15 wins this season have come in straight sets, including Wednesday's 3-0 shellacking of UNC Pembroke when they hit .385 with 39 kills and just four attack errors.
 
Lander is 3-0 against the South Atlantic Conference this season, as they defeated Queens, Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne in the opening weekend.
 
Lander's offensive numbers don't jump off the page as they are hitting .201 and averaging 12.20 kills per set, but the Bearcats thrive on the defensive end. According to the most recent NCAA statistical update, which doesn't take into account Wednesday's match, the Bearcats are ranked second in the nation in total blocks with 162.5, ninth in blocks per set with 2.62 and 24th in opponents attack percentage with a miniscule .124 mark. Lander is better in almost every way on its home court, where they are compiling 13.21 kills per set, a .252 attack percentage and 3.07 blocks per frame.
 
The Bearcats are led on the offensive side by junior middle Khiani Kelly, who has produced 3.10 kills per set, 192 total kills and a .211 attack percentage. Junior right side Halle Dotson is contributing 2.80 kills per set with a .274 attack percentage, while junior middle Tarryn Angermeier is accounting for 2.78 kills per set, a .274 attack percentage and 1.08 blocks per set. Kendall Korte (2.32 k/set) is also putting up more than two kills per set while adding 3.69 digs per. Sophomore right side Reyonia Whipple is the Bearcats' block leader with 1.34 per set and 87 total.
 
Ali Kirk leads Lander with 6.90 assists per set to go along with 1.60 digs per. Julia Ferreira-Alves has a team-leading 5.72 digs per set.
 
The Lady Railsplitters and Bearcats have played at least once in eight of the last 11 seasons. Lincoln Memorial claims a narrow 5-4 edge in the series, but Lander has won four of the last six, including straight-set victories in both 2013 and 2014. In last season's meeting, which took place on Tusculum's campus in Greeneville, Tenn., the Bearcats held the Lady Railsplitters to a .141 attack percentage and won by set scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-19. Fleeman paced LMU with 11 kills in that match. 
 
USC Aiken - Saturday at 2 p.m. (Aiken, S.C.) – Live Stats | Video
 
After opening the season with eight straight wins, the Pacers have lost three of their last six matches to slip to fifth in the PBC standings with an 11-3 overall record. USC Aiken has still looked like an NCAA Tournament caliber team, though, as they enter the weekend following back-to-back 3-0 wins over Francis Marion and Columbus State. The Pacers are currently 3-0 against SAC opposition, which includes a straight-set win over the Lady Railsplitters in the season lidlifter.
 
The Pacers lead the Peach Belt Conference and rank 22nd in the nation in opponents attack percentage with a .123 mark. They have done that while racking up 13.29 kills per set on an efficient .226 percent clip. Additionally, USC Aiken is accounting for 2.29 service aces per set, ranking fifth in the nation in that category.
 
Senior right side Ashley Diedrich has asserted herself as one of the best players in the country, as she ranks 26th in the nation in kills per set (4.05) and 12th in points per set (4.9) while hitting .221 and adding 2.67 digs per set. Taylor Stratton (2.36 kills/set), Julia Forster (2.07 k/set) and Alicia Hines (2.04 k/set) are all contributing more than two kills apiece per set. Hines is the standout among that trio with a .350 attack percentage and 0.96 blocks per set. Emily Teelon is racking up 10.04 assists and 2.40 digs per set, while Monica Cardona is ranked 10th in the nation with 5.79 digs per set.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 3-2 all-time against USC Aiken, but the Pacers have the upper hand in terms of momentum after capturing a straight-set victory over Lincoln Memorial in the season opener back on September 4. Brock (8) and Oates (7) led the Lady Railsplitters, who were limited to a .129 attack percentage in that contest. Diedrich carried the Pacers with 11 kills, while Ashley Lind had 10 terminations. Lincoln Memorial won the only meeting between the two programs in Aiken, S.C., erasing a two sets to none deficit to win a five-set thriller in 2013.