HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (2-1) make their Mary Mars Gymnasium debut and kick off the South Atlantic Conference schedule this weekend with matches against Brevard and Lenoir-Rhyne on the docket. Lincoln Memorial welcomes the Tornados to Harrogate for the home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing off against the Bears at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will look to win their fifth consecutive home opener and improve to 4-1 in SAC lid lifters in the Jenny Michael era. The program's streak of consecutive home-opening wins far outdates Michael's arrival, though, as the Lady Railsplitters have not dropped their Mary Mars debut since 1993.
 
The Lady Railsplitters carry a load of momentum into the weekend after winning two of their three matches in Savannah, Ga. at the Pirate Invitational, including a 3-2 triumph over 25th-ranked Armstrong State in the weekend finale. It was not only the program's first win over the Pirates, ending a streak of streak of six straight losses, but it was also Lincoln Memorial's first-ever win against a ranked opponent.
 
Junior outside hitter Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) was the breakout star of that victory, posting a season-high 17 kills with a .353 attack percentage. Thanks to that performance, Brock leads the Lady Railsplitters and ranks 11th in the SAC with 2.73 kills per set.
 
Setter Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) earned Railsplitter of the Week plaudits for her efforts in the Pirate Invitational, as she recorded three double-doubles, including a monster 44-assist, 17-dig outing against Armstrong State.
 
Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) and Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) are off to solid starts for the Lady Railsplitters as well. Fleeman is averaging 2.55 kills per set after posting 12 kills in back-to-back matches against Erskine and Armstrong, while Oates is contributing 2.36 kills per frame on a .370 attack percentage.
 
Live stats and video will be available for both matches via www.LMURailsplitters.com. Before, during and after this weekend's matches, fans can join the conversation online by using the Twitter hashtag #LMUVB. The first 50 fans in attendance at Friday's match will receive a signed LMU volleyball poster. Admission is completely free of charge to all home volleyball matches.
 
Know the Opponents - SAC and home-opening weekend
 
Brevard - Friday, September 11 (7 p.m.) - Live Stats | Video
 
The Tornados picked up their first win of the 2015 season on Tuesday, knocking off the Virginia-Wise Cavaliers in straight sets. Prior to that, Brevard struggled through the season-opening Pirate Invitational, dropping straight-set decisions to Armstrong State and USC Aiken while falling in a heartbreaking five-set thriller to Erskine.
 
A lack of efficiency in the offensive attack has been a key to the Tornados' early-season swoon, as they enter the weekend ranked 11th in the South Atlantic Conference with a team attack percentage of .145. Brevard showed some signs of life in the win over Virginia-Wise, though, accumulating a season-high .282 attack percentage, far exceeding their previous season-high of .138.
 
Senior outside hitter Fatima Gharachorloo and sophomore middle Rachel Ruble lead the Brevard attack. Gharachorloo is contributing a team-high 2.86 kills per set despite sitting below .100 in attack percentage (.080). She has also posted 2.64 digs per set, the third-best mark on the team. Ruble is hitting .338 with 2.29 kills per set.
 
Junior defensive specialist and preseason All-SAC selection Aleksandra Vrvilo leads Brevard and ranks third in the league with 5.07 digs per set.
 
The Lady Railsplitters have never lost to Brevard with a 19-0 all-time record in the series, which dates back to the 2000 season. Exactly half of those wins have come in straight sets. Lincoln Memorial needed four sets to defeat the Tornados in last season's home meeting, winning by scores of 25-14, 21-25, 25-21 and 25-16. Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) and Oates led LMU, who hit .226 and limited BC to a .104 clip in the match, with 11 kills apiece.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Brevard went to five sets at Mars Gym in 2013, as the Lady Railsplitters erased a two sets to none deficit by rolling off 25-18, 25-14 and 15-8 victories in sets three, four and five. It was one of just two five-set matches in the history of the series, with the other coming at Brevard in 2007.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne - Saturday, September 12 (2 p.m.) - Live Stats | Video
 
The Bears have lofty expectations after finishing 22-10 last season, earning an at-large selection to the NCAA tournament, and being selected second in the 2015 SAC preseason coaches' poll. But Lenoir-Rhyne got off to a slow start in the Queens Invitational this past weekend, suffering straight-set losses to GRU Augusta, Lander and Montevallo, while defeating Mount Olive, 3-0, for the lone win of the season.
 
Aside from that win over the Trojans, when L-R attacked at a season-high .298 clip and help Mount Olive to an .086 attack percentage, the Bears have been substantially outhit by their opponents. They hit .082 against GRU Augusta, .092 versus Lander and .228 against Montevallo, while those teams hit .218, .229 and .287, respectively. As a whole, opponents are attacking at a .208 rate against the Bears.
 
That number should be expected to regress, though, as Lenoir-Rhyne out-attacked their opponents .195 to .164 in 2014.
 
Senior outside hitter Ashley Wells leads the Bears and ranks fourth in the SAC with 3.25 kills per set. Brooke Redmond, the 2014 SAC Freshman of the Year, is averaging 2.35 kills per set on a .183 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Emily Steele, who transferred from Gardner-Webb University, leads the team with a gaudy .425 attack percentage.
 
Senior setter and preseason All-SAC selection Briana Gottberg ranks fourth in the SAC with 9.17 assists per set and fifth in the league with 4.92 digs per frame.
 
The Bears will face Carson-Newman on Friday evening at 7 p.m. prior to their match against the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Lincoln Memorial and L-R are tied at 10-10 in the all-time series, but the Bears carry a four-match winning streak into Saturday's meeting. The Lady Railsplitters lost in five sets in last season's home match-up despite getting 18 kills from Holland and a 41-assist, 23-dig performance from Cash.  The Bears routed the Lady Railsplitters at Mary Mars in 2013, winning by scores of 25-18, 25-13 and 25-20.