HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (3-1) will make their Mary Mars Gym debut and open South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday night, when they welcome rival Tusculum (3-1) to town for a 7 p.m. first serve.
 
Schedule/Game Day Links:
 
Wednesday, September 7 vs. Tusculum (7pm) Live Stats / Video
 
Notes on the Lady Railsplitters:
Preview with Coach Michael on the Papa John's Splitter Sound Bites podcast
 
-The Lady Railsplitters went 3-1 at the season-opening King Invitational this past weekend in Bristol, Tenn. After suffering a 3-0 loss to Shorter in the first match of the 2016 campaign, Lincoln Memorial reeled off three straight wins, defeating Virginia-Wise in three sets, Erskine in four and King in three. The win over Erskine was the signature victory of the weekend, as the Flying Fleet are the defending Conference Carolinas regular-season and tournament champions.
-The Lady Railsplitters followed up a forgettable offensive performance against Shorter with three efficient and productive outings at the King Invitational. LMU made quick work of Virginia-Wise, accounting for 27 kills on a .212 attack percentage. The Lady Railsplitters were even better on Saturday, amassing 51 kills on a .239 attack percentage against Erskine and finishing up the weekend with 38 kills on a .330 clip against King. It marked just the third time the Lady Railsplitters have hit above .300 in a match since the start of the 2014 campaign.
-Junior outside hitter Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) led the way for the Lady Railsplitters all weekend, averaging 3.17 kills, 3.00 digs and 0.75 blocks per frame. Her best showing in Bristol came against Erskine, when she collected a season-high 15 kills, 18 digs and five blocks. She added 10 kills, four digs and three blocks against King.
-Right side Samantha Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) aided the Lady Railsplitters' offensive attack with a solid debut. Cash, the younger sister of setter Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio), averaged 2.23 kills per set on a .271 attack percentage to go along with 2.77 digs per frame. She had nine kills against both Erskine and King, while posting a .500 attack percentage against the Tornado.
-The Lady Railsplitters will be looking to secure their fourth winning streak of four games or longer since the start of the 2014 season on Wednesday night. Lincoln Memorial last captured four straight wins from October 2-9 of last season.
 
Notes on the Pioneers:
 
-Like the Lady Railsplitters, Tusculum opened its season with three wins and a loss at the King Invitational this past weekend. The Pioneers rolled on Friday, beating both King and Erskine in straight sets. On Saturday, Tusculum relinquished a 2-1 lead in a five-set loss to Montevallo before bouncing back with another straight-set triumph over Virginia-Wise.
-It's a small sample size, but the Pioneers' offensive numbers are rather blah. Through four matches in the King Invite, Tusculum averaged 10.71 kills per set on a .171 attack percentage, ranking in the bottom half of the SAC in both of those categories. The Pioneers also committed 66 errors, the fourth-highest mark currently in the league. Tusculum was able to overcome that with a solid serve, though, as the Pioneers logged 30 aces over that four-match stand, good for 7.5 per contest and 2.14 per set.
-Tusculum is also using a strong defense to override its stagnant offense. The Pioneers are leading the SAC in digs per set with 18.93 while allowing opposing offenses to account for a meager .116 attack percentage.
-The Pioneers are led by the sophomore duo of Cassie Born and Rachel Garnett and junior Mariah Lewis. Born is averaging 2.57 kills per set on a .197 attack percentage to go along with 2.93 digs per set, while Garnett is contributing 2.20 kills per set with a .197 attack percentage as well. Lewis is tallying 1.79 kills per set with a gaudy .315 attacking clip. The Pioneers are implementing a two-setter system with junior Shannon Murphy (5.22 assists, 4.11 digs per set) and freshman Hallie Zumack (3.71 assists, 1.64 digs per set) running the show. Sophomore libero Melissa Mazur leads the Pioneers with 4.93 digs per frame.
-The Pioneers are looking to bounce back from a down year in 2015, when they went 8-14 in SAC play to finish tied for ninth place. Tusculum was sitting at 8-8 at the tail end of October, but ended the season with six straight losses to miss out on the SAC Championship. The Pioneers were selected fifth in the SAC coaches preseason poll.
 
Series History:
 
-The Tusculum rivalry is the oldest in the history of the LMU women's volleyball program, according to the records on file. Since 1989, the Lady Railsplitters and Pioneers have played 61 times, with Tusculum holding a slight 32-29 edge all-time. Since the two teams have shared South Atlantic Conference affiliation, Tusculum leads the series 10-8.
-The Lady Railsplitters are 12-14 against the Pioneers at Mary Mars Gym, but have won four of the last five home matches. The Lady Railsplitters erased a 2-1 deficit and pulled out a five-set win in last season's meeting in Mary Mars. Holland led the way with 17 kills in that contest.