HARROGATE, Tenn. – After spending the past two weeks on the road, the Lady Railsplitters (5-3, 2-3 SAC) return to the comforts of Mary Mars Gymnasium this weekend for South Atlantic Conference matches against Catawba (3-4, 1-2 SAC) and Lenoir-Rhyne (5-2, 2-0 SAC). Lincoln Memorial will be riding high after snapping a three-game losing streak with a convincing 3-1 win at Carson-Newman on Tuesday night.
 
The Basics
 
Friday, September 22 vs. Catawba – 7pm
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Saturday, September 23 vs. Lenoir-Rhyne – 2pm
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Quick Hits
 
- The Lady Railsplitters snapped out of an early-season funk with a 3-1 win over the upstart Carson-Newman Eagles on Tuesday night inside of Holt Fieldhouse. The win wrapped up a five-game road trip for Lincoln Memorial, who went 2-3 during that stretch. The victory marked the Lady Railsplitters' fourth straight against the rival Eagles.
 
- Carson-Newman crushed the Lady Railsplitters 25-11 in set one, but Lincoln Memorial relied on its defense to power the come-from-behind victory. Led by six blocks apiece from Danielle Ged and Rylee Storms, LMU racked up 20 block assists as a team and held the Eagles below a .050 attack percentage in two of the last three sets.
 
- Attack errors continued to plague the Lady Railsplitters, who hit just .129 and committed 25 miscues in the win at Carson-Newman. After hitting over .200 in each of the first four matches of the season, Lincoln Memorial has failed to crack the .180 mark in the last four outings while making 25-plus errors in three straight. LMU's .145 attack percentage in SAC play is the third-lowest in the league.
 
- Lincoln Memorial has offset its offensive woes with one of the stingiest defensive units in the league, as the Lady Railsplitters are holding opponents to just 11.48 kills per set on a .135 attack percentage.
 
- Kiera Holland became the first Lady Railsplitter to reach 100 kills this season with her 13-kill effort on Tuesday. With double-digit kills in seven of her eight appearances, Holland is ranked second in the SAC in kills per set with 3.61 and fourth in total kills with 112.
 
- Erica Whiteaker continues to put up gaudy defensive numbers for the Lady Railsplitters, as she leads the SAC and the nation by a wide margin in digs per set. The Kingston Springs, Tenn. native is averaging a ridiculous 9.10 digs per set in SAC play. Her 8.42 digs per set overall is nearly a full two digs ahead of the second-highest in the league – Carson-Newman's Morgan Ballard (6.58).
 
- Junior middle Danielle Ged is having a breakout season for the Lady Railsplitters, putting up career-high marks for kills per set (1.71), attack percentage (.295) and blocks per set (1.26). Ged is ranked seventh in the SAC in hitting percentage and leads the league in blocks per set.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are a perfect 3-0 at Mary Mars Gym this season. Lincoln Memorial has thrived offensively while playing in front of its home fans, averaging 12 kills per set on a sizzling .246 attack percentage. LMU has a five-game home winning streak dating back to last season.
 
Know the Opponents
 
- Catawba comes into Friday's match following back-to-back SAC losses to Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne. The Indians mustered a meager .090 attack percentage against the Bears in Tuesday night's match and were handled by scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-17.
 
- The Indians have been arguably the worst offensive team in the league so far this season, ranking last in attack percentage (.125) and service aces per set (1.22) while ranking second-to-last in kills per set with 11.19. Catawba has yet to hit above .175 in seven outings this season.
 
- The freshmen duo of Macy Eidenberger and Jade Brooks lead the way for the Indians offensively. Eidenberger is putting up a team-high 2.43 kills per set and hitting .170, while Brooks is contributing 2.26 kills per set and hitting .155. Sophomore Allie Grubb is adding 2.08 kills per set.
 
- Senior setter Rachel Stanford is averaging 7.50 assists per set to go along with 3.50 digs per frame. Junior Allison Benton leads the team with 5.96 digs per set.
 
- Opponents have had a field day against a Catawba block that is averaging just 1.30 blocks per set. The Indians have allowed opposing offenses to put up 12.26 kills per set on .156 attack percentage.

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- On the other end of the spectrum, Lenoir-Rhyne enters the weekend playing some stellar volleyball. The Bears have won four consecutive matches and dropped just one set over that span. That includes 3-0 sweeps over Tusculum and Catawba.
 
- Through two SAC matches, Lenoir-Rhyne is putting up 14 kills per set and hitting .250, ranking second in the league in both of those categories.  
 
- Senior outside hitter Brooke Redmond has been a monster for the Bears offensively with a team-leading 3.58 kills per set on a .242 attack percentage. Redmond – ranked third in the league in kills per set – is also contributing a team-best 3.00 digs per set.
 
- Eight other players are adding at least one kill per set, but freshman Taylor Prall is the only one of that bunch over two kills per set. Prall has accounted for 2.88 kills a frame on a .224 attack percentage.
 
- Strangely, four players have accumulated at least 30 assists for the Bears this season. Sophomore Anna Smith leads that quartet with 5.62 assists per set, while junior Jessica Funk has added 3.33 assists per set, though she has played only three matches this season.
 
- Lenoir-Rhyne is a rock-solid defensive team that is ranked second in the SAC in blocks per set (2.38) and solo blocks (15). Opponents are hitting just .152 against the Bears, who are led by Jaclyn Denny's 1.21 blocks per set.
 
Head-to-Head
 
- The Lady Railsplitters own a 14-12 advantage over Catawba in the all-time series. Lincoln Memorial has particularly dominated in recent years with wins in 10 of the last 12 meetings. However, the Indians defeated the Lady Railsplitters in straight sets in the most recent match on November 4, 2016. LMU hasn't lost to Catawba at Mary Mars Gym since 2011, compiling five straight home wins in the series.
 
- Lenoir-Rhyne has been a thorn in the Lady Railsplitters' side for the past four seasons, winning seven of the nine matches since the start of the 2013 campaign. However, Lincoln Memorial won two of the teams' three meetings last season, including a 3-1 victory at Mary Mars in the quarterfinals of the SAC tournament.