WINGATE, N.C. – The second-seeded Lady Railsplitters (24-7) aim to advance to the South Atlantic Conference Championship title match for the first time since 2008 on Friday evening when they square off against the three-seeded Newberry Wolves (20-11) in semifinal-round action at 4 p.m. inside of Cuddy Arena in Wingate, N.C. The winner of that match will play either No. 1 Wingate or No. 4 Queens in the SAC Championship final at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Game Day Information
 
Friday, November 18 vs. Newberry, SAC Championship semifinals (4pm, Wingate, N.C.)
 
Tickets for Friday's semifinal matches are $10 for adults, $5 for active or retired military and $2 for college students with a valid student ID.
 
Notes on the Lady Railsplitters:
 
-Despite a first-set meltdown during which Lincoln Memorial gave away a 22-12 lead, the Lady Railsplitters knocked off the seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Bears in four sets to advance to the SAC Championship semifinals on Tuesday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium. It marks Lincoln Memorial's fourth trip to the SAC semis over the past seven seasons and snapped a four-game home losing streak against Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
-Sisters Abby and Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) powered the Lady Railsplitters past the Bears in that win on Tuesday night. Abby Cash matched a career-high with eight kills while tallying 39 assists and 22 digs. Sam Cash produced a career-high 19 kills on a .324 attack percentage to go along with seven assists and six digs. Along with that duo, Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) had 11 kills, Tone Gill (Nashville, Tenn.) had nine kills and Liz Brock (Lima, Ohio) pitched in eight kills.
 
-The South Atlantic Conference announced the 2016 volleyball award winners on Wednesday afternoon with the Lady Railsplitters landing a program-record four players on the All-SAC team. Abby and Sam Cash were All-SAC first team picks, as Lincoln Memorial led the league in first-team selections, while Brock and Holland were named to the All-SAC honorable mention squad. In addition to that, head coach Jenny Michael was tabbed as the SAC Coach of the Year. The All-SAC release can be read it its entirety here.
 
-With a win on Friday, the Lady Railsplitters would break the program's single-season record for wins, which was established in successive seasons by the 1998, 1999 and 2000 teams. Lincoln Memorial tied the program record for victories in Tuesday's win over Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters are looking to return to the SAC Championship final for the second time ever and the first time since 2008. Lincoln Memorial has lost in the semifinals in its last four trips there, and three of those four matches were decided in five sets, including last season's heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Wingate. The Lady Railsplitters also lost in five sets in the semifinals to Tusculum in 2010 and Carson-Newman in 2009.
 
Notes on the Wolves:
 
-The three-seeded Newberry Wolves have been the hottest team in the South Atlantic Conference over the last 10 matches with a nearly perfect 9-1 mark over that span. In fact, since suffering a 3-0 loss at Wingate on September 20, Newberry is 16-3. The Wolves' only losses during that stretch were in five sets at Queens and Catawba and a head-scratching 3-0 loss at Tusculum.
 
-Newberry cruised past Catawba in straight sets in the SAC Championship quarterfinals on Tuesday night, winning by scores of 27-25, 25-15 and 25-22. The Wolves collected 40 kills on a .197 attack percentage while limiting the Indians to 36 kills on a .136 clip.
 
-The Wolves are led by All-SAC first team outside hitter Logan Hayward and All-SAC second team middle blocker Madison Darby-McClure. Hayward, who had a team-high 11 kills against Catawba, is averaging 3.24 kills per set and has piled up 363 kills total this season. Darby-McClure has put up 2.73 kills per set on a .278 attack percentage, the seventh-best mark in the league. In addition to that duo, freshmen Toni-Anne Whitlow (2.28 kills/set) and Andie Meredith (2.15 kills/set) have made an immediate impact for the Wolves.
 
-All-SAC honorable mention setter Maggie Marsh leads the Wolves and ranks second in the conference with 10.05 assists per set to go along with 2.56 digs per frame. She has also been effective as an attacker with 74 kills on just 209 attempts this season.
 
-Since the start of October, Newberry has averaged 13.42 kills per set as a unit, which would rank second in the South Atlantic Conference.
 
-Sophomore Kensley Jordan paces Newberry with 4.58 digs per set, while Hayward has pitched in 3.64 and Mary Siebert has added 3.29. As a team, the Wolves are ranked second in the SAC in digs per set with 18.96.
 
Series History:
 
-The Lady Railsplitters lead the all-time series against Newberry 17-8, but it's been a back-and-forth affair of late, as neither team has won two straight matches in the series since LMU won back-to-back matches against the Wolves from 2011-12.
 
-LMU and Newberry split the regular-season series, with the Lady Railsplitters defeating the Wolves 3-0 in Newberry on September 16 before falling in five sets at Mary Mars Gym on October 21.
 
-In the most recent meeting on October 21, the Lady Railsplitters fell to the Wolves by scores of 25-23, 28-30, 22-25, 25-13 and 11-15. The two teams were nearly dead-even in every statistical category. LMU finished with 66 kills, 29 errors, 62 assists and 87 digs, while Newberry had 65 kills, 29 errors, 61 assists and 86 digs. Brock led LMU with 23 kills, while Hayward powered the Newberry offense with 20 kills. The Lady Railsplitters had 30 block assists in that contest, led by Jamie Jehne's (Hollywood, Fla.) seven.
 
-LMU and Newberry have just one previous postseason meeting, as the Lady Railsplitters knocked off the Wolves in five sets in the SAC Championship quarterfinals in 2009.