GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – After a four-day layoff, the Lady Railsplitters (4-0, 1-0 SAC) return to the court and look to remain unbeaten on Tuesday night when they invade Pioneer Arena to face the Tusculum Pioneers (2-3, 0-1 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action beginning at 7 p.m.
 
The Basics
 
Tuesday, September 12 at Tusculum – 7pm
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Quick Hits
 
- Lincoln Memorial is back in action after opening SAC play with a grueling five-set win at Mars Hill last Thursday. The two teams went toe-to-toe through the first four frames until the Lady Railsplitters rolled the Lions, 15-7, in the decisive fifth set. With the win, Lincoln Memorial improved to 4-0 for the first time since the start of the 2010 campaign.
 
- A number of noteworthy performances powered the Lady Railsplitters past the feisty Mars Hill Lions, but none was more impressive or more vital than junior libero Erica Whiteaker, who compiled a program-record 47 digs. Whiteaker broke her own record in the five-set thriller, surpassing the 45 digs she recorded against Newberry in the semifinals of the 2016 SAC Championship.
 
- Redshirt-sophomore right side Rylee Storms continues to impress early in her debut season for the Lady Railsplitters, as she recorded a season-high 16 kills in the win at Mars Hill. Storms, who is currently ranked sixth in the SAC in kills per set with 3.07, has reached double-figure kills in three of her four appearances this season, including 15 in the season-opening win over Lee.
 
- With a win on Tuesday, the Lady Railsplitters would hit 5-0 for the first time since the 2007 squad kicked off the season with six consecutive wins. It would mark just the fourth 5-0 start in program history.   
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are ranked second in the SAC in hitting percentage with a .230 clip, trailing only Wingate's ridiculous .325 season attack percentage. That is due in large part to the efforts of Samantha Cash (.359) and Danielle Ged (.346), who has been particularly effective while producing 2.07 kills per set. Kiera Holland is also hitting .248 while ranking sixth in the SAC with 3.07 kills per set.
 
- Opponents are hitting an anemic .124 against the Lady Railsplitters so far this season. That is largely a product of a defense that ranks second in the SAC with 2.53 blocks per set. Ged and Tone Gill are both averaging well over a block per set individually to lead the team in that department.
 
Know the Opponent
 
- After struggling with inconsistency and tying for eighth place in the SAC standings last season, the Pioneers have had an up-and-down start to the 2017 campaign. The Pioneers boast wins over American International and Saint Anselm, but also have losses to Saint Leo and Nova Southeastern. The Pioneers also opened SAC play on Friday with a four-set loss to Carson-Newman, who won just two league matches all last season.
 
- In that home loss to Carson-Newman, the Pioneers hit just .130 and committed 29 attack errors while also making 10 service errors. Cassie Born led the team with 14 kills, but also made 10 attack errors. Five other players finished with at least three attacking miscues as well.
 
- Tusculum has been average on the offensive end of the spectrum with 12.10 kills per set and a .181 attack percentage, which ranks eighth out of 11 teams in the SAC. In wins, the Pioneers have averaged 12.88 kills per set on a .231 attack percentage, while those numbers dip to 11.58 and .150 in losses.
 
- Born leads the team with 2.95 kills per set but is hitting a mere .144 for the season and has committed a team-high 31 attack errors. Senior outside hitter Sabrina Schleuger is chipping in 2.35 kills per set on a .213 attack percentage, while senior middle Mariah Lewis has pitched in 2.25 kills per set on a .267 clip, which leads the team amongst players with at least 50 attempts.
 
- Senior setter Shannon Murphy runs the show for the Pioneer offense with 9.85 assists per set to go along with 2.75 digs per frame. Junior libero Melissa Mazur has produced a team-high 5.15 digs per set, ranking fourth in the SAC in that department.
 
- Tusculum is 8-8 in its last 16 home matches and has lost three of its last four at Pioneer Arena dating back to last season. That includes a 3-0 loss to Lincoln Memorial.
 
Head-to-Head
 
The Lady Railsplitters trail Tusculum in the all-time series by the slimmest of margins, as the Pioneers own a narrow 32-31 edge since the teams' first meeting in 1989. However, Lincoln Memorial has won six of the last eight matches, including the last three. The Lady Railsplitters, who are 17-15 all-time on the road in the series, swept Tusculum last season, winning 3-2 in Harrogate and 3-0 in Greeneville.