WINGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial volleyball team will make the program's seventh NCAA tournament appearance on Thursday when the seventh-seeded Lady Railsplitters face the second-seeded USC Aiken Pacers in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional inside of Cuddy Arena. 
 
Lincoln Memorial (20-9) has won 11 of its last 13 matches and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after making a run to the South Atlantic Conference title match this past weekend, where the Lady Railsplitters fell to top-seeded Wingate in a four-set thriller. 
 
USC Aiken (21-4) went 11-1 in Peach Belt Conference play to capture the league's regular-season title, but fell to Georgia College in the PBC tournament semifinals. That loss snapped a seven-match winning streak for the Pacers. 
 
The winner of the LMU/USC Aiken match will face the winner of Augusta/Georgia College match in the Southeast Regional semifinals at 5 p.m. on Friday. 
 
The Basics 
 
Thursday, November 15 vs. USC Aiken – 2:30pm 
Live Stats
Video (ESPN3)
Tournament Central
NCAA Tournament bracket 
 
Quick Hits 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters played their way into the SAC title match with a dramatic come-from-behind victory against Anderson in the tournament semifinals. Lincoln Memorial suffered narrow 26-24 and 27-25 losses in the first two sets, but rallied all the way back to take down the Trojans in five sets. Rylee Storms logged a career-high 22 kills to lead the way, while Alicia Kessler (13) and Lindsey Nartker (11) also finished in double figures. 
 
- LMU fell to 0-3 all-time in the SAC title match with a 3-1 loss to Wingate, who has defeated the Lady Railsplitters in all three of their tournament championship appearances. In set two, Lincoln Memorial outlasted the Bulldogs 41-39 to set a new NCAA Division II record for points in a set, but Wingate won the other three sets 25-17, 25-11 and 25-15 to win its 11th SAC tournament trophy. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 1-6 all-time in NCAA tournament play and have lost six consecutive NCAA tournament matches since defeating Carson-Newman in their postseason debut in 2008. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial ranks 22nd in the country in digs per set with 19.3, 20th in aces per set with 1.89 and 31st in blocks per set with 2.21. Erica Whiteaker leads the Lady Railsplitters and ranks fourth nationally in digs per set with 6.87. Whiteaker (0.43) and Nartker (0.42) pace the team in aces per set, while Tone Gill has produced the 33rd-most blocks per set in the nation with 1.17. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters have used a two-setter system of late. Emily Walter leads the team with 964 assists total and 9.18 per set, while junior Abby Higgins has produced 3.17 assists per frame. Higgins has double-digit assists in her last four appearances, including a season-high 21 against Anderson. 
 
- Whiteaker, Storms and Gill were each selected to the All-SAC second team, while Walter earned a spot on the SAC All-Freshman squad. Whiteaker and Storms also were named to the SAC Championship All-Tournament team. 
 
- Opponents are hitting just .148 against the Lady Railsplitters this season. 
 
Know the Opponent 
 
- USC Aiken has been dominant this season with 15 straight-set victories. Their only losses have come against No. 18 Barry and NCAA tournament participants West Alabama, Georgia College and Augusta. 
 
- The Pacers lead the country in digs per set with 22.32 while ranking fifth in assists per set with 13.91, seventh in kills per set with 14.67 and 11th in opponent attack percentage with a .117 clip. 
 
- PBC Player of the Year Christine Carroll and PBC Libero of the Year Rebecca Martinez have led the way for the Pacers this season. Carroll is putting down 3.98 kills per set on a red-hot .335 attack percentage to go along with 0.94 blocks per frame. Martinez leads the country with 8.3 digs per set. 
 
- Sophomore outside hitter Alie Smith has also been a force offensively with 3.43 kills per set. The All-PBC second team honoree ranks second on the team with 3.32 digs per frame and leads the Pacers with 18 aces. 
 
- Kayla Duggan is another player to watch for the Pacers as the right side/outside hitter combo is contributing 2.62 kills per set on a .192 attack percentage. 
 
- Glenn Cox was tabbed as the PBC Coach of the Year after leading USC Aiken to the PBC regular-season title in his 11th season at the helm. The Pacers are 223-121 under Cox's direction. 
 
- USC Aiken won the Southeast Region title in 2016. The Pacers are making their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. 
 
Series History 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 3-5 all-time against USC Aiken and have lost four consecutive matchups against the Pacers since pulling out a 3-2 victory in 2013. Thursday will mark the first-ever NCAA tournament meeting between the two squads.