HARROGATE, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum collide for the 65th time in the two programs' history on Halloween night when the Lady Railsplitters (12-12, 7-9 SAC) host the Pioneers (14-12, 9-7 SAC) for a South Atlantic Conference clash inside of Mary Mars Gymnasium.  
 
The Basics
 
Tuesday, October 31 at Mars Gym – 7pm
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Quick Hits
 
- The Lady Railsplitters produced a record-breaking performance in Friday night's 3-1 win at Catawba. First and foremost, Erica Whiteaker recorded a game-high 23 digs to break Lincoln Memorial's single-season record for digs, surpassing Casey Mense's total of 586 from the 2013 campaign. Second, the Lady Railsplitters racked up a program-record 38 block assists, their most since the 2005 season. Tone Gill led that effort with a record 12 block assists of her own. The Lady Railsplitters held Catawba to just 43 kills and a .061 attack percentage to sweep the season series.
 
- Lincoln Memorial could not maintain that level defensively in Saturday's 3-0 loss at Lenoir-Rhyne, who piled up over 13 kills per set on a .245 attack percentage. Kiera Holland led Lincoln Memorial with 13 kills but also had 10 errors. Gill had a nice offensive showing with 11 kills on a .280 attack percentage. The Lady Railsplitters mustered just eight block assists the day after recording 38.
 
- With four matches remaining in the regular season, the Lady Railsplitters are alone in sixth place in the SAC standings. All four teams left on the schedule – Tusculum, Anderson, Wingate and Queens – are currently ahead of Lincoln Memorial.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 7-4 inside of Mary Mars Gym this season compared to 5-8 outside of it. Lincoln Memorial has averaged 12.45 kills per set on a .216 attack percentage in home matches, while those numbers dip to 11.76 and .141 on the road.
 
- Holland has produced double-digit kills in five of her last seven matches, including a 15-kill performance against Catawba on Friday night. The Columbia, S.C. native currently leads the South Atlantic Conference in total kills with 303 and ranks fourth in kills per set with 3.40.
 
- Lindsey Nartker has played well of late for the Lady Railsplitters, accumulating at least 10 kills in four of her last seven matches. Nartker racked up a season-high 17 kills in the Lady Railsplitters' win at Catawba.
 
Know the Opponent
 
- Tusculum has hit a bumpy patch of the season as the Pioneers enter Tuesday's match looking to snap a three-game losing streak that includes a 3-1 loss at Mars Hill, a 3-0 setback at Wingate and a 3-2 defeat at Queens. That three-game swoon has dropped the Pioneers into a tie for fourth place in the SAC standings.
 
- Tusculum is in the back end of a six-game road trip that concludes this weekend at Newberry and Coker.
 
- The Pioneers lead the SAC in total kills with 1,283 but also lead the league in errors with 587. Tusculum is ranked fourth in kills per set with 12.34 and sixth in attack percentage with a .172 clip. The team hasn't accounted for that same level of production defensively, ranking seventh in blocks per set with 1.80 and 10th in digs per set with 17.89.
 
- Junior Cassie Born leads the Pioneers with 3.07 kills per set to go along with 3.30 digs per frame. Senior Sabrina Schleuger has put down 2.37 kills per set with 2.43 digs a game, while Mariah Lewis (2.16) and Laryssa Welch (2.13) have also accounted for over two kills per set.
 
- Junior libero Melissa Mazur paces the Pioneers with 5.45 digs per set. Senior Shannon Murphy leads the way with 10.13 assists per frame.
 
- Tusculum has been nearly unbeatable at home with an 8-2 mark but has struggled in road matches with a 3-8 mark. The Pioneers average more than a full kill less per set on the road (11.77) than at home (12.82).
 
- The Pioneers are ranked second in the SAC with 138 aces. Murphy leads the way with 32, the second-most in the conference, while three other players have produced over 25.
 
Head-to-Head
 
The Railsplitters and Pioneers are nearly dead even in the 64 previous meetings in the series, with Tusculum holding a narrow 33-31 edge. The Pioneers snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with a five-set win in Greeneville, Tenn. back on September 12. Lincoln Memorial is 13-14 at home in the all-time series.
 
In the first matchup this season, Tusculum produced 14 more kills than the Lady Railsplitters to pick up a 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13 win. Holland and Rylee Storms combined for 27 kills to lead the Lady Railsplitters, while Born paced Tusculum with a game-high 26 kills.