SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Lincoln Memorial volleyball program opens the 2015 season in Savannah, Ga. this weekend at the Pirate Invitational, hosted on the Armstrong Atlantic State campus at the Aquatics and Recreation Center.
 
The Lady Railsplitters' weekend schedule features three in-region powerhouses that qualified for last season's NCAA tournament. LMU faces USC Aiken at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on Erskine at 11 a.m. and host Armstrong at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.  
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 0-4 in season openers and 8-8 in matches taking place in the first weekend of the season under head coach Jenny Michael, who is beginning her fifth year at the helm of the LMU volleyball program. Michael enters the 2015 campaign needing 23 wins to reach 100 for her career.
 
LMU has lost its last two season-opening matches in straight sets, falling 3-0 to 23rd-ranked West Florida in 2014 and dropping a 3-0 decision to Shorter in 2013. The Lady Railsplitters' last season-opening win was also earned in straight sets, a 3-0 throttling of Virginia State in 2010.  
 
The Lady Railsplitters return the bulk of a roster that compiled a 16-15 record and finished sixth in the South Atlantic Conference standings last season, including their top two attackers as well as their starting setter and libero.
 
Sophomore Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) - a preseason All-SAC first team selection - amassed 2.97 kills and 2.61 digs per set last season, while junior Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) collected 2.36 kills per frame and a .213 attack percentage.
 
Junior Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) led the Lady Railsplitters with 8.90 assists per set and 997 total assists as a sophomore, while senior Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) posted a team-best 4.55 digs per frame.
 
Senior middle blocker Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.) recorded 1.52 kills and 0.62 blocks per set last season.
 
Live stats and video will be available for the Lady Railsplitters' showdown with Armstrong, while fans can also get updates on all three weekend matches via the official LMU Athletics Twitter account (@LMURailsplitter). Fans can join the conversation online by using the Twitter hashtag #LMUVB.
 
Know the Opponents - 2015 Pirate Invitational
 
USC Aiken - Friday, September 4 (7 p.m.)
 
The Pacers were selected second in the Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches' poll after finishing in that exact spot last season. Despite losing in the opening round of the PBC tournament, USC Aiken earned a bid to the NCAA tournament, where their season was ended in straight sets by Carson-Newman in the quarterfinals of the Southeast Regional. All told, the Pacers completed the 2014 season with a 21-9 overall record and a 13-5 league mark.
 
Offensively, the Pacers return four of their top five attackers from a season ago, including the reigning PBC Player of the Year and Daktronics Southeast Region Player of the Year Ashley Diedrich. Last season, Diedrich led USC Aiken with 412 kills and 71 blocks while ranking second on the team with 313 digs, earning honorable mention All-American accolades.
 
Along with Diedrich, the Pacers welcome back attackers Taylor Stratton (2.56 kills per set), Aly Johnson (1.84) and Julia Forster (1.67).
 
The Pacers' rotation will feature a new starting setter, as Shelia Walsh graduated after leading the team with 10.08 assists per set in 2014. Dig leader Monica Cardona is back, though, as she paced USC Aiken with 4.73 digs per set last season.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 3-1 all-time against USC Aiken, with all three wins in the series coming in consecutive fashion. In the most recent meeting, Lincoln Memorial erased a two sets to none deficit to defeat the Pacers, 3-2, in Aiken, S.C. on September 14, 2013. Fleeman was one of three Lady Railsplitters to record 15 kills in that match.
 
Erskine - Saturday, September 5 (11 a.m.)
 
Coming off of one of the most successful seasons in program history, Erskine was selected first in the Conference Carolinas preseason coaches' poll. The Flying Fleet set a program record for wins last season by going 21-9, capped with their second-ever league championship and an appearance in the NCAA Southeast Regional, where their season ended in a 3-0 loss to Wingate.
 
The Flying Fleet graduated three-time All-Conference Carolinas first team selection Caitlin Bullock, the program's all-time kills leader, but return three additional All-conference honorees in junior setter Kristen Dodge, senior middle hitter Kelly Sullivan and junior outside hitter Sade Mendez.
 
Dodge set Erskine's single-season record with 10.19 assists per set last season, while Sullivan compiled 3.11 kills per set, a .302 attack percentage and .77 blocks per frame. Mendez did a little bit of everything for the Flying Fleet, averaging 1.66 kills and 2.27 digs per frame.
 
The Fleet also return their third-leading attacker from last season in Marissa Greenough, who accounted for 2.14 kills per set.
 
Junior Kendall Kirk paced Erskine in 2014 with 3.85 digs per set and 412 total scoops.
 
Saturday's meeting will be the first head-to-head collision between Lincoln Memorial and Erskine.
 
Armstrong Atlantic State - Saturday, September 5 (2:30 p.m.) - Live Stats | Video
 
The Pirates have been one of the premier volleyball programs in the Southeast Region over the past four seasons, compiling a 131-14 record, four straight Peach Belt Conference regular season titles and two consecutive appearances in the NCAA Southeast Region championship match during that stretch. Led by Coach Michael's former boss, Will Condon, Armstrong Atlantic has not won fewer than 30 matches since 2010. 
 
Ranked 25th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II preseason poll, Armstrong's roster features 10 players listed at 6-0 or taller. That group is headlined by the dynamic attacking trio of Emily Wylie (6-4), Anna McGee (6-4) and Rachel Thompson (6-3), who combined for nearly 900 kills last season.
 
A preseason All-PBC selection, Wylie hit .311 with 3.15 kills per set in 2014, earning Daktronics All-Southeast Region accolades. McGee accounted for 2.46 kills per set, while Thompson, also a preseason All-PBC recipient, posted 2.24 kills per set on a .394 attack percentage, the seventh-best mark in the nation.
 
Despite the firepower returning in the offensive attack, Armstrong will have a couple of question marks.
 
The Pirates will be looking to replace one of the best setters in the country, as Clemson transfer Kamryn Sherman is no longer with the program. Sherman ranked 21st in the NCAA Division II last season with 11.25 assists per set, meriting honorable mention All-American accolades from the AVCA.
 
The Pirates also lost the PBC co-Defensive Specialist of the Year Morgan Hill to graduation. Hill led Armstrong with 4.23 digs per set last season.
 
The Lady Railsplitters and Pirates have played six times since the turn of the century, and Armstrong has won all six of those meetings. Lincoln Memorial has lost both matches against Armstrong in Savannah, Ga. in straight sets (2011, 2013).