HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Railsplitters (3-8) aim to avoid their first four-game losing streak and look to avenge a season-opening loss against King when they host the red-hot Tornado (9-1) for a 7 p.m. Valentine's Day showdown at Mary Mars Gymnasium. Tuesday night will be the first of a six-match homestand for Lincoln Memorial.
Schedule/Gameday Links:
Tuesday, February 14 vs. King (7pm) –
Live Stats /
Video
Quick Hits:
-Lincoln Memorial was handed a 3-1 loss at Alderson Broaddus last Friday to drop its third consecutive match. Despite grinding out a 27-25 win in the opening set, the Railsplitters fell 25-18, 25-20 and 25-9 in the next three frames, as the Battlers avenged a 3-2 loss at Lincoln Memorial from back on January 14.
-Uncharacteristically, the Railsplitters have struggled to slow down opposing offenses during their three-game losing skid. Alderson Broaddus hit a season-high .404 last Friday, while Sacred Heart compiled .236 and .282 attack percentages in last weekend's doubleheader in Fairfield, Conn. In the two matches before that, the Railsplitters held Bluefield to a paltry .053 clip and Lees-McRae to a .188 mark.
-Freshman right side
Evan Cory (Metairie, La.) became the first LMU player to surpass 100 kills in a season in Friday night's loss at Alderson Broaddus, recording a team-high 12 kills to push his season total to 107.
Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and
Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) are closing in on that mark as well with 74 and 68 kills, respectively.
-Lincoln Memorial will be trying to avoid the program's first-ever four-game losing streak. The Railsplitters lost three straight matches in late January in the Wittenberg-hosted Jim Coleman Invitational, but followed that up with two consecutive wins over Bluefield and Lees-McRae.
-The Railsplitters remain in the top 10 nationally in digs per set, ranking seventh out of 42 teams with 9.08.
Jorge Collazo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) leads the team with 94 total and 2.35 per set, while Cory has racked up 65 and 1.63 per frame.
-Lincoln Memorial paid the King Tornado a visit for the program's inaugural match on January 10 and suffered a 3-0 loss in Bristol. In that contest, the Railsplitters hit just .160 while King racked up 35 kills on a .275 clip. Cory led LMU with eight kills, while Carvalho and
Ryan Iskandar (Tempe, Ariz.) had six apiece.
Notes on the Tornado:
-Since losing at then No. 11 George Mason on January 20, King has reeled off seven straight wins and raced out to a perfect 5-0 mark in Conference Carolinas play. The Tornado currently boast the second-best winning percentage in the nation, trailing only No. 1 nationally-ranked and undefeated Ohio State in that department.
-The Tornado most recently swept a pair of road matches, winning 3-2 at Emmanuel on Friday before pulling out a 3-0 victory at Erskine on Saturday. That was King's third 3-0 win in its past four appearances on the court.
-Defense has carried the Tornado this season, as King leads the nation in opponent hitting percentage with a .170 clip while ranking third in digs per set with 9.63 and seventh in blocks per frame with 2.44. An opponent has hit above .200 against the Tornado only three times this season.
-Jeff Sprayberry leads the Tornado attack with 108 kills and 3.27 per set, while Eddie Moushikhian and Jon Wheaton are averaging 2.26 kills per frame. Sean Luhman is just behind that duo with 2.25 kills per frame. Nick Drooker leads King in assists (293) and assists per set (9.77) while also pacing the team in digs with 2.37 per frame. Defensively, Wheaton leads the way with 30 blocks, while Adrian Besson has contributed 26.
-As a unit, King ranks 15th in the country and leads Conference Carolinas with a .282 attack percentage.
-Sprayberry led King in the first meeting against Lincoln Memorial, piling up 11 kills on 25 attempts. Luhmann put up nine, while Moushikhian had six while to go along with seven digs.
