WINGATE, N.C. – The seven-seeded Lady Railsplitters (13-15) will face the two-seeded Wingate Bulldogs (24-2) for the second time in four days when they invade Curry Arena on Tuesday night for the quarterfinal round of the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Championship. The winner advances to the SAC tournament semifinals in Jefferson City, Tenn. to face the winner between No. 3 Queens and No. 6 Mars Hill on Friday.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Wingate concluded the regular-season schedule on Saturday at Mary Mars Gym, where the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to six and sent the Lady Railsplitters into the postseason with their third straight loss with an impressive 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 win.
 
The Basics
 
Who: Wingate
Where: Curry Arena (Wingate, N.C.)
When: 7 pm
What: SAC Championship quarterfinals
Stats
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Quick Hits
 
- The Lady Railsplitters had little answer for the Katie Bludau and Phoebe Havenaar led Wingate attack on Saturday. Bludau accounted for 17 kills on just 27 attempts while Havenaar put down 10 kills on only 18 swings as the Bulldogs hit .327 as a team. Wingate nearly doubled Lincoln Memorial's offensive output with a 52-28 margin in kills. The Bulldogs produced kills on nearly 50 percent of their attempts.
 
- Senior outside hitter Kiera Holland enters the SAC tournament needing 10 kills to match Ahleasha Matthews for the second-most in the program history. Holland has accounted for 1,314 career kills and is ranked fifth in the league with 332 kills this season. She hasn't fared well against Wingate this season, though, combining for just nine kills over six total sets.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters have advanced to the semifinals of the SAC tournament in three of the last five seasons. However, Wingate has ended Lincoln Memorial's postseason run in each of the last two seasons, beating the Lady Railsplitters 3-0 in the 2016 title match and 3-2 in the 2015 semifinals.
 
- Lincoln Memorial will rely on its defense to pull off the upset. The Lady Railsplitters lead the SAC in total blocks with 249 and rank second in blocks per set with 2.44. LMU also has the support of arguably the best libero in the SAC in junior Erica Whiteaker, who is ranked second in the league in digs and digs per set and third in aces.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters enter the SAC tournament on a three-game losing streak having dropped nine of their last 10 sets overall. Since sweeping Tusculum in dominant fashion on October 31, Lincoln Memorial has dropped 3-0 decisions to Anderson and Wingate as well as a 3-1 setback to Queens. Those three teams went a combined 51-9 in SAC play this season, though.
 
- Lincoln Memorial is 4-5 in SAC tournament play under head coach Jenny Michael. The Lady Railsplitters played in the SAC Championship title match last season for the first time since 2008.
 
Know the Opponent
 
- Wingate capped off the regular season as winners in six straight games with an 18-2 conference mark, but the Bulldogs streak of 11 consecutive SAC regular-season titles ended, as Anderson won the last 21 matches of the season to finish with a 19-1 league record.   
 
- The Bulldogs have dropped just two sets total during their six-game winning streak – a 3-1 win at Carson-Newman and a 3-1 victory over Mars Hill.
 
- Wingate has won 10 of the last 11 SAC tournaments, including the 2016 championship.
 
- The Bulldogs boast the SAC's most productive offense, leading the league in kills per set with 15.19, hitting percentage with a .279 clip and assists per set with 14.40. Wingate also averages 1.50 aces per set and is holding opponents to 9.42 kills per set on a .112 attack percentage.
 
- Bludau leads the SAC in kills per set with 4.28 and is hitting an absurd .305 this season. She is backed by Havenaar's 2.98 kills per set and .376 attack percentage, Anna Holmquist's 2.92 kills per set and .417 attack percentage and Rachael Cecka's 2.15 kills per set.
 
- Setter Rachel Alles is ranked third in the SAC in assists per set with 10.73 to go along with 3.05 digs per set and 1.05 kills per frame.
 
- Despite finishing second in the SAC, Wingate is the top team in the Southeast Region rankings heading into the league tournament. The Bulldogs are one of five SAC teams in the region rankings along with No. 3 Anderson, No. 5 Queens, No. 7 Carson-Newman and No. 10 Tusculum.
 
Head-to-Head
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 1-24 all-time against Wingate. Lincoln Memorial ended a 21-game losing streak against the Bulldogs and picked up their first win in the series with a 3-2 triumph in October 2016, but Wingate has won nine straight sets in the series since then. In fact, Wingate has won 14 of the last 17 sets overall.