HARROGATE, Tenn. – A matchup against the top dog in the South Atlantic Conference standings looms on the horizon for the Lady Railsplitters this weekend when they welcome Coker and Wingate to Mary Mars Gymnasium. 
 
Lincoln Memorial (8-5, 4-3 SAC) enters the weekend hoping to snap a two-match losing skid and remain unbeaten on its home court. The Lady Railsplitters were last in action last weekend, when they suffered a 3-1 loss at Mars Hill and a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Lenoir-Rhyne. 
 
Coker (8-7, 0-6 SAC) has struggled mightily this season and heads to Harrogate having lost six of its last seven matches, including four straight. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Wingate (14-0, 7-0 SAC) is off and running once again, as the 11-time SAC champion Bulldogs have won 42 of the 48 sets they have played this season. 
 
The Basics 
 
Friday, October 5 vs. Coker – 7pm
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Saturday, October 6 vs. Wingate – 2pm
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Quick Hits 
 
- After winning its first three SAC matches, Lincoln Memorial has dropped three of its last four following last weekend's setbacks at Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne. The Lady Railsplitters are currently tied for fifth in the league standings. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters had a tough time offensively last weekend, hitting .158 with 25 errors against Mars Hill while posting a .155 clip and 23 errors versus Lenoir-Rhyne. Since hitting over .200 in each of the first four matches of the season, Lincoln Memorial has surpassed that mark just once over the past nine contests. 
 
- Rylee Storms had a big weekend for the Lady Railsplitters. The right side racked up a career-high 18 kills and 20 digs at Mars Hill, and followed that up with 15 kills, seven digs and three blocks at L-R. She leads the team by a wide margin in total kills with 121. 
 
- After missing three matches due to injury, freshman outside hitter Emma Flowers returned to the lineup last weekend. She appeared in just one set against Mars Hill and failed to register a kill, but bounced back with seven kills and six digs against L-R. Flowers leads the team with 2.76 kills per set on a .226 attack percentage. 
 
- Senior libero Erica Whiteaker ranks fourth in the nation in digs per set with 7.13, which trails only Carson-Newman's Morgan Ballard for the SAC lead. The Kingston Springs, Tenn., native also ranks fourth in the league in digs with 328 and ninth in aces with 18. 
 
- Sophomore middle/right side combo Alicia Kessler had one of her best matches of the season at Mars Hill, racking up 10 kills on a .400 attack percentage. She is contributing 2.09 kills per set and leads the team with a .253 attack percentage. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 7-0 and have lost just three sets total at Mars Gym this season. Lincoln Memorial was last beaten in Harrogate by Wingate on November 11, 2017. 
 
Notes on the Cobras 
 
- Coker is seeking its first win since beating Erskine in straight sets on September 7. Since then, the Cobras have dropped four straight matches to Carson-Newman, Queens, Newberry and Anderson. 
 
- Despite their 0-6 SAC record, the Cobras have been frisky this season, taking Queens and Carson-Newman to five sets while also taking a set off 18-2 Anderson. 
 
- Junior Taylor du Bray is having a monster season for the Cobras as she leads the SAC in kills per set with 3.92 and is hitting .193. du Bray ranks second in the SAC in total kills with 204 and has tallied at least 15 kills in seven matches, including a 28-kill effort against UNC Pembroke and a 20-kill performance against Anderson. She also leads the SAC in errors, though, and has committed at has five miscues in nine of her 15 appearances. 
 
- Along with du Bray, freshmen Lana Strejcek and Olivia Cerick and senior Cayley Gunter pace the Cobras offensively. Strejcek is putting up 2.52 kills per set on a team-high .299 attack percentage, Cerick has produced 2.17 kills per set and Gunter is contributing 2.05. 
 
- Kara Overholt leads the Cobras with 4.39 digs per set. She is one of four Coker players with over three digs per frame along with Rami Mullen (3.46), du Bray (3.31) and Cerick (3.19). 
 
- Freshman setter Mullen has appeared in all 15 matches, pacing the team with 502 assists and 9.30 per frame. 
 
- Coker is aiming to snap a seven-match SAC losing streak that dates back to a 3-0 loss at Anderson in the 2017 SAC Championship quarterfinals. 
 
- The Cobras are 1-3 on the road this season. 
 
Notes on the Bulldogs
 
- After its string of 11 consecutive SAC regular-season titles was broken last season by the Anderson Trojans, Wingate has seemingly returned to form this season. The Bulldogs are undefeated and have won nine of their first 14 matches in straight sets. They also made relatively quick work of Anderson in the first matchup of the two powerhouses on September 28 with a 3-1 triumph. 
 
- Wingate cruised past Catawba in straight sets on Tuesday night, winning by scores of 26-24, 25-13 and 25-11. The Bulldogs hit .315 and held the visiting Indians to a .102 mark. 
 
- The Bulldogs do almost everything at an elite level, particularly on the defensive side of things. Wingate is ranked second in the nation in opponent hitting percentage with a stingy .069 mark. On the offensive end, the Bulldogs are ranked sixth in the nation with 14.54 kills per set, 10th with a .262 hitting percentage and fourth with 13.98 assists per set. 
 
- A quartet of seniors carries the Wingate attack. Middle blockers Phoebe Havenaar (3.36 kills per set, .365 attack percentage) and Anna Holmquist (3.00, .325) are ranked first and fourth, respectively, in the SAC in attack percentage. Outside hitters Hanna Givens (2.90, .215) and Taylor Williams (2.34, .174) have also thrived, while freshman Reese Blackley has played a supporting role with 2.00 kills per set in 10 appearances. 
 
- Junior Rachel Alles has separated herself as one of the best setters in the country, ranking 18th nationally with 11.20 assists per set to go along with 3.02 digs per frame. Senior libero Kori Adams leads the Bulldogs with 5.57 digs per set, which ranks 26th nationally. 
 
- Wingate has made 13 appearances in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs' 32 NCAA games are more than double any other team in the SAC. 
 
- The Bulldogs have been responsible for two of the last three SAC players of the week. Havenaar won the award on September 24, while Alles was the Specialist of the Week on September 17. 
 
Series History 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 9-1 all-time against Coker and have won six of the 10 matches in the series in straight sets. LMU had won eight straight until the Cobras picked up their first-ever win in the series by topping the Lady Railsplitters in straight sets last September in Hartsville, S.C. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial cruised past the Cobras in last year's meeting at Mary Mars by scores of 25-20, 25-11, 25-16. No Coker player produced more than six kills while Lindsey Nartker led the Lady Railsplitters with 13 on a .522 attack percentage. 
 
- While LMU has dominated its series against Coker, the opposite is true against Wingate, who has won 25 of the 26 all-time meetings. That includes 12 total straight-set sweeps and a stretch of four straight. The Lady Railsplitters have not taken a set off the Bulldogs since pulling off their first-ever win in the series on October 28, 2016. 
 
- The Bulldogs are 10-1 all-time at Mars Gym. They beat the Lady Railsplitters in back-to-back matches to end the 2017 campaign, winning 3-0 in Harrogate to conclude the regular season before rolling to a 3-0 victory in the SAC Championship quarterfinals just three days later.