HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team (8-12) hosts the Charleston Golden Eagles (7-10) for a pair of matches at Mary Mars Gymnasium this weekend. The Railsplitters head into the weekend series after opening their six-match home stand with a 3-1 win over Bryan on Tuesday, while Charleston is looking to snap a seven-match losing streak.
Schedule/Gameday Links:
Friday, March 10 vs. Charleston (7pm) –
Live Stats
Saturday, March 11 vs. Charleston (1pm) –
Live Stats
Quick Hits:
-The Railsplitters dropped the opening set against Bryan on Tuesday night at Mary Mars Gym, but pounded the Lions 25-17, 25-11 and 25-20 in the next three frames. Lincoln Memorial collectively hit .313 in the match while holding the undermanned Lions to a .037 effort. The victory moved LMU to 7-2 all-time in Harrogate,
-Junior outside hitter
Joshua Riblett (Torrence, Calif.) sat out the first set against Bryan, but still managed to lead the team in kills with 12.
Pedro Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) posted eight kills, while
NyJaee Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.) and
Marcus Molina (Newport Beach, Calif.) had five apiece.
-The Railsplitters have hit at or near .200 in seven of their last eight matches. Lincoln Memorial's .313 clip against Bryan was tied for the second-highest hitting percentage of the season. The Railsplitters hit a season-high .435 at Bluefield on January 25 and posted a .313 mark in the second meeting against Bluefield on February 28.
-Service errors continue to haunt the Railsplitters. Lincoln Memorial has made at least 11 service miscues in nine straight matches, including 21 against Emmanuel, 20 against Mount Olive and a season-high 31 against Campbellsville. For the season, the Railsplitters have 301 service errors with just 98 aces.
-The Railsplitters are ranked 11th in the nation in opponent attack percentage by holding foes to a collective .215 hitting clip for the season. An opponent hasn't hit above .200 against Lincoln Memorial since Mount Olive posted a .254 effort on February 26. Since then, the Railsplitters have held their last four foes to -.031, .185, .190 and .037 clips.
Notes on the Golden Eagles:
-Charleston opened the season by winning seven of its first 10 matches, but has dropped seven consecutive games since beating St. Andrews in straight sets on February 4. That includes a pair of straight-set losses to Sacred Heart as well as 3-0 losses to Penn State and Princeton.
-The Golden Eagles are hitting .215 for the season and accumulating 11.34 kills per set, ranking 30th and 27th in the country in those respective categories. Defensively, Charleston is holding opponents to a .221 hitting percentage, ranking 12th in the nation in that department.
-Charleston is led offensively by 6-6 outside hitter Ryan Santos and 6-3 right side Rajahl Moxey, who have combined for 266 kills this season. Santos has accounted for 2.91 kills per set a 154 total on a .158 clip, while Moxey has put up 2.67 kills per set and 112 total on a .162 clip. Donovan Wilmott has been the Golden Eagles' most efficient hitter with 1.44 kills per set on a sizzling .430 clip.
-The Golden Eagles are ranked 12th in the nation in digs per set with 8.90. Seven players are averaging at least a dig per frame for Charleston, and Darrin DePellegrini leads that group with 2.70 – the fourth-most in the country.
-Anthony Rivera has tallied 474 of the team's 611 assists. The 6-2 setter is averaging 8.46 assists per set to go along with 1.09 digs per set.
-Charleston is 3-5 in road matches this season.
-The Golden Eagles are in just their third season of existence and have already well exceeded the highest win total in program history. Charleston won just four games during the inaugural 2015 campaign and matched the mark in 2016.
