HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (19-4, 13-2 SAC) will host arguably the most significant regular-season match in program history this weekend when they entertain Wingate (22-3, 14-2 SAC) and Coker (11-12, 3-12 SAC) for a pair of South Atlantic Conference showdowns at Mary Mars Gymnasium. Lincoln Memorial squares off against the 10-time defending SAC champion Bulldogs on Friday at 7 p.m. in a battle between the first- and second-place teams in the league before hosting the Cobras at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Schedule/Game Day Links
 
Friday, October 28 vs. Wingate (7pm) Live Stats / Video
Saturday, October 29 vs. Coker (2pm) Live Stats / Video
 
Notes on the Lady Railsplitters:
 
-Lincoln Memorial churned out its highest attack percentage since November, 2013 in a 3-0 win at Mars Hill on Tuesday night. The Lady Railsplitters racked up 51 kills with only eight errors to hit .384 as a group, surpassing the .300 mark for the fourth time since the start of the 2014 campaign. That effort helped LMU extend its winning streak over Mars Hill to six, which dates back to the start of the '14 season.
 
-It was another balanced effort for the Lady Railsplitters, who had five different players provide at least seven kills. Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) had 12 kills with a .355 attack percentage, while Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) racked up 11 kills on a .450 clip. Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) had eight error-free kills, while Jamie Jehne (Hollywood, Fla.) and Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) added seven kills apiece.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters enter the weekend series trailing SAC-leading Wingate by just a half game, as the Bulldogs are 14-2 to Lincoln Memorial's 13-2. Wingate has won 10 consecutive SAC titles since 2006. Presbyterian, who is no longer a member of the South Atlantic Conference after making the transition to the NCAA Division I ranks, was the last team not named Wingate to win the SAC regular-season championship. A win over the Bulldogs would put the Lady Railsplitters in control of their own destiny with six league tilts remaining.
 
-Lincoln Memorial is 6-1 at Mary Mars Gym this season. Newberry handed the Lady Railsplitters their first home loss since the tail end of the 2015 season last Friday by grinding out a 3-2 win in Harrogate. Lincoln Memorial rebounded from that by beating Anderson in four sets the following day.
 
-Brock picked up her 500th career kill for the Lady Railsplitters in Tuesday night's win at Mars Hill. The Lima, Ohio native is in the midst of her second and final year in the Blue and Gray after transferring from the University of Delaware. She currently ranks 13th in the SAC in total kills with 221 and 14th in kills per set with 2.73. In SAC play, Brock is racking up 3.17 kills per set, the fourth-best mark in the league.
 
-Lincoln Memorial's best-ever SAC finish came in 2011, when the Lady Railsplitters compiled a 14-4 league mark and tied for second place. LMU first joined the SAC in 2007.
 
Notes on the Bulldogs:
 
-Wingate enters the weekend boasting a league-best 22 wins while sitting just a half game ahead of the Lady Railsplitters at 14-2 in SAC play. The Bulldogs, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA national poll, dropped a couple of head scratchers two weeks ago, losing in three sets at Anderson and four at Newberry. However, Wingate has returned to its dominant self since those two setbacks, beating Coker and Queens in straight sets while dispatching of Catawba in four last weekend.
 
-The Bulldogs' win over Queens was particularly convincing. The Royals entered that contest with an 11-2 SAC record, but were handedly beaten by scores of 25-10, 25-14 and 25-14. The Bulldogs hit .407 as a unit and held the visiting Royals to a .000 attacking clip.
 
-Wingate has been without some key pieces for a good chunk of the season. Starting libero Kori Adams suffered a season-ending injury against Armstrong State on September 9, while senior middle blocker Tyler Smith (2.09 kills/set, .304 attack %) hasn't played since September 24. Sophomore middle Anna Holmquist, who tallied 133 kills as a freshman, hasn't played since September 10.
 
-Despite those roadblocks, the Bulldogs still have plenty of offensive firepower, as they rank first in the SAC in kills per set (14.00) and attack percentage (.245). The trio of Abby Saehler, Katie Bludau and Oakley Attaway lead the way for Wingate. Saehler leads the SAC in kills with 291 while ranking third in kills per set with 3.38 and eighth in hitting percentage with a .292 clip. Bludau is putting up 2.94 kills per set and hitting .222, while Attaway is adding 2.74 kills per frame with a .207 mark.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters will have to be on their game in serve receive against a Wingate team that leads the SAC in total aces (158) and aces per set (1.82). In the Bulldogs' 22 wins, they have averaged nearly two aces per set, but in their three losses they have put up just 0.64 aces per frame.
 
Notes on the Cobras:
 
-Coker has lost six straight SAC matches dating back to a 3-1 defeat at Tusculum on October 7. The Cobras last put a notch in the SAC win column on October 1 with a surprising 3-1 win over Lenoir-Rhyne. Coker is currently alone in 11th place in the 12-team SAC with a 3-12 mark, which is a full game ahead of 12th-place Carson-Newman.
 
-The Cobras were battered by Catawba on Tuesday night, falling in straight sets by scores of 25-22, 25-14 and 25-23. The Indians hit .218 as a team and produced 10 more kills than the Cobras (43-33), who committed 25 attack errors.
 
-In stark contrast to Wingate, Coker has been dismal on offense this season, putting up just 10.33 kills per set on a .113 attack percentage in SAC play. Those numbers rank 11th and 12th in the SAC, respectively. On the other side, conference opponents have averaged 14.17 kills per set and hit .226 against the vulnerable Cobra defense.
 
-Junior Megan Hardy leads the Cobras with 2.11 kills per set in SAC play, but is just settling back into a groove after missing seven straight matches from September 30 to October 18. Overall, junior Christen Bragg paces Coker with 2.08 kills per set on a .208 attack percentage. Juniors Madison Bingle (1.93 kills/set), Bethany Prochnow (1.89 kills/set) and Alexis Berles (1.69 kills/set) have also played substantial roles in the Coker attack.
 
-Coker is just 2-7 on the road this season, but both of those wins came outside of SAC play. The Cobras are 0-7 in SAC road matches and only two of those seven required more than three sets – a 3-2 loss to Queens and a 3-1 loss to Tusculum.
 
-Coker invades Holt Fieldhouse to take on the Carson-Newman Eagles on Friday night before making their way over to Harrogate for Saturday's tilt with the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Series History:
 
-The Lady Railsplitters are 0-21 all-time against Wingate with an 0-9 mark inside of Mary Mars Gym. Lincoln Memorial has taken the Bulldogs to five sets on four different occasions, including the semifinals of the 2015 SAC Championship, which saw Wingate overcome a 2-0 deficit to end the Lady Railsplitters' season.
 
-Wingate defeated the Lady Railsplitters 25-18, 25-17 and 25-20 in this season's first meeting back on September 23 in Wingate, N.C. The Bulldogs hit .346 as a team and out-killed the Lady Railsplitters 49-27. Saehler led all players with 14 kills and Smith had 12 on just 14 attempts. Holland paced Lincoln Memorial with 11 kills.
 
-Wingate handed LMU a 3-1 loss last season at Mary Mars Gym. The Lady Railsplitters won set one 25-15, but dropped the next three.
 
-In contrast, the Lady Railsplitters are a perfect 7-0 all-time against Coker, with four of the seven wins coming in straight sets. Lincoln Memorial is 3-0 in the series at home, but two of those three wins required four sets.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters cruised past the Cobras in this season's first meeting, winning by scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 26-24 in Hartsville, S.C. on September 24. Lincoln Memorial hit .258 and produced a 48-28 edge in terms of kills. Brock led all players with 14 kills.