HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball program will make its Mary Mars Gymnasium debut this weekend as part of a doubleheader that features a Friday road trip to Lees-McRae and a Saturday home date against Alderson Broaddus. The Railsplitters (0-1) will go to Banner Elk, N.C. to face the Bobcats (0-0) at 7 p.m. Friday before returning to Harrogate to host the Battlers (0-0) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Schedule/Gameday Links
 
Friday, January 13 at Lees-McRae (7pm) – Live Stats/Video
Saturday, January 14 vs. Alderson Broaddus (1pm) – Live Stats
 
Notes on the Railsplitters:
 
-Lincoln Memorial competed hard, but dropped the program's debut match at King in three sets on Tuesday night, losing by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-12. Errors ultimately derailed the Railsplitters, as LMU committed 18 attack miscues and 14 service errors. The Railsplitters hit just .160 in the contest, while King produced 35 kills on a .275 clip.
 
-Freshman opposite side hitter Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) led the Railsplitters offensively with eight kills on a team-high 22 attempts. In addition to Cory, Ryan Iskandar (Tempe, Ariz.) and Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) produced six kills apiece, while Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) had five.
 
-Freshman libero Jorge Collazo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) was tabbed as the Off the Block Defensive Player of the Night on Tuesday after leading all players with nine digs. The 6-0 native of San Juan, Puerto Rico also chipped in two assists.
 
-Following this weekend's matches, the Railsplitters will travel to Springfield, Ohio to face Wittenberg, Cincinnati Christian and Mount St. Joseph in neutral-site contests.
 
-In addition to providing six kills against King, Iskandar led the Railsplitters with 23 assists. Marcus Molina (Newport Beach, Calif.) powered Lincoln Memorial's block with two solos and two assists.
 
Notes on Lees-McRae:
 
-Friday will serve as the Bobcats' 2017 season opener. Lees-McRae is trying to rebound from a dreadful 2016 campaign during which they posted a 1-25 overall record and went 0-18 in Conference Carolinas play. The Bobcats' lone win came against Bluefield.
 
-The Bobcats return their three leading offensive players off of last season's team in seniors Mark Shayka and John Sobel and sophomore Hector Serviat. Sobel collected 281 kills and 3.43 per set to lead Lees-McRae, while Shayka put up 236 kills and 2.68 per set. Serviat was a distant third on the team in those categories with 1.71 kills per set and 135 total.
 
-Lees-McRae will have to replace setter Drew Blecher, who led the team with 8.19 assists per set and 721 total last season. However, libero Keenan Freitas is back after pacing the Bobcats with 219 digs and 2.49 per set.
 
-The Bobcats were a dismal offensive team last season, ranking last in the Conference Carolinas in kills, kills per set, attack percentage, assists, assists per set and aces. Lees-McRae did, however, lead the league in errors with 578.
 
Notes on Alderson Broaddus:
 
-The Battlers open the season on Friday night when they pay the Barton Bulldogs a visit before heading over to Harrogate for Saturday's contest against the Railsplitters. Alderson Broaddus went 11-12 last season and finished with a flurry by winning four of its last five matches.
 
-Alderson Broaddus returns its leading attacker in Cameroon native Obenda Besongngem. He produced 244 kills with 3.59 per set last season, ranking 21st in the nation in kills per set and points per set with 4.10. Other than Besongngem, the Battlers leading returning offensive threat is Justin Glader, who accounted for 79 kills in 14 appearances in 2016.
 
-The Battlers graduated top setter Kody Deiter, but do bring back Benjamin Bravo, who produced 298 assists and 6.77 per game last season. Erik Arroyo is also back after leading Alderson Broaddus by a substantial margin in digs with 187 last season.
 
-The Battlers were a decent offensive unit last season, compiling 11.24 kills per set on a .210 attack percentage.
 
-Saturday will be the first of two meetings against Alderson Broaddus, as the Railsplitters return the favor with a trip to Philippi, W.V. on February 10.