MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lady Railsplitters (18-4, 12-2 SAC) look to cool off a Mars Hill (6-15, 5-9 SAC) team that has won five of its last six South Atlantic Conference matches on Tuesday night when they invade Stanford Arena for a 7 p.m. first serve. Here's everything you need to know:
Schedule/Game Day Links
Tuesday, October 25 at Mars Hill (7pm)
Live Stats
Notes on the Lady Railsplitters:
-Lincoln Memorial went 1-1 this past weekend at Mary Mars Gymnasium, dropping a five-set heartbreaker to Newberry on Friday night before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over Anderson. The loss to Newberry was particularly painful, as the Lady Railsplitters won set one, lost set two 30-28 after holding a 28-27 lead, and fell in set three despite leading 22-19 late. That snapped an eight-match home winning streak and represented LMU's second SAC loss of the 2016 campaign.
-In the win over Anderson, the Lady Railsplitters rebounded by posting a .250 attack percentage and seeing four different players accumulate at least 11 kills.
Samantha Cash (Carlisle, Ohio) led that effort with a near triple-double, racking up 13 kills, eight digs and seven assists.
Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) also provided 13 kills, while
Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) had 11 on just 17 attempts.
-Tuesday marks Lincoln Memorial's first true road match since October 8, a 3-1 win at Brevard. Since then, the Lady Railsplitters went 3-1 at the neutral-site SAC/Peach Belt Challenge and went 2-1 during a three-game home stand. The Lady Railsplitters are 7-1 on the road this season, with the lone loss coming at Wingate on September 23.
-The Lady Railsplitters have three players ranked in the top-15 in the South Atlantic Conference in kills per set in Holland, Cash and
Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio). Holland is sixth in the league in that department with 3.13, while Cash is 10th with 2.78 while ranking fourth in hitting percentage with a .301 clip. Brock has piled up 2.68 kills per set. As a unit, the Lady Railsplitters rank second in the SAC in kills per set (13.17) and hitting percentage (.217).
-The Lady Railsplitters have produced 60-plus kills in two consecutive matches. Prior to this past weekend, Lincoln Memorial had reached that mark just five times this season. The Lady Railsplitters matched a season-high mark with 66 kills against Newberry.
-The race for the SAC crown is tightening as the season heads towards the home stretch. 10-time defending SAC champions Wingate leads the way with a 14-2 mark, while Lincoln Memorial is right on the Bulldogs' heels with a 12-2 record. Queens is still in contention as well with an 11-3 mark, while Newberry has an outside chance with an 11-5 record.
Notes on the Lions:
-Mars Hill fell to 0-8 in SAC play with a 3-1 loss at Newberry on September 30, but has since won five of its last six SAC matches, including a current streak of three straight. The Lions kicked off that three-game winning streak with a 3-1 win over Tusculum before pulling off a 3-1 win at Lenoir-Rhyne and a five-set victory at Brevard.
-The Lions' offensive numbers have not been pretty this season, as they rank near the bottom of the SAC in kills per set (10.94), hitting percentage (.154), assists per set (10.38) and errors (418). But Mars Hill has been gritty on the defensive side of things, producing the third-most digs per set in the league with 18.28.
-Mars Hill has been significantly better in the season's second month, though. In 11 matches in September, the Lions averaged 10.29 kills per set and hit .138, but those numbers have jumped to 11.64 and .170 in nine matches in October.
-The Lions don't have a player with more than 200 kills this season, but have five with more than 100. By contrast, the Lady Railsplitters have three players that have surpassed the 200-kill threshold. Senior outside hitter Mary Kate Griffin leads the way with 2.31 kills per set, while junior outside Rebecca Butler has 2.24 kills per set and a team-best .218 attack percentage. Junior Lauren Hochstetler has contributed 2.20 kills pet set, while sophomore Maddie Spurgeon (1.60 kills/set) and freshman Sally Anne Johnson (1.44 kills/set) have also made solid contributions.
-Junior Sara Fahrenbrook and senior Andie Russell have split setting duties for the Lions. Fahrenbrook leads that duo with 6.63 assists per set, while Russell has put up 5.83. Victoria Kaiser ranks second in the SAC with 5.68 digs per set.
-The Lions are 2-4 at Stanford Arena this season and have actually played much worse there according to the numbers. In road matches, Mars Hill is putting up 10.91 kills per set with a .149 attack percentage. At home, those numbers dip to 10.32 and .133. The Lions have won two straight home contests, though, beating Coker in straight sets and Tusculum in four.
Series History:
-The Lady Railsplitters own a commanding 23-8 record all-time against the Lions with a 16-2 mark as South Atlantic Conference foes. Lincoln Memorial has won five straight in the series, with the last loss in the series coming at Mars Hill in 2013.
-The Lady Railsplitters defeated the Lions 3-1 in the first meeting this season on September 20 at Mary Mars Gym. Lincoln Memorial hit .284 in that contest while holding the visiting Lions to a .046 clip. Sam Cash led the Lady Railsplitters with 16 kills, while Brock had 15. No Mars Hill player finished with more than five kills.
-Lincoln Memorial is 8-3 all-time at Mars Hill, but the Lions have won two of the last four meetings there. The Lady Railsplitters won 3-0 at Stanford Arena last season.
