HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The three-seeded Lady Railsplitters aim to book their second trip to the South Atlantic Conference tournament championship match in three seasons and bolster their NCAA tournament resume when they face second-seeded Anderson in the semifinal round on Friday night at the DeLoach Center in Hartsville, S.C.
 
Lincoln Memorial (19-8) earned its semifinal berth with a 3-0 win over Queens on Tuesday night at Mary Mars Gym, while Anderson (27-4) topped Mars Hill in four sets. 
 
The Trojans swept the regular-season series from the Lady Railsplitters, winning 3-0 in Anderson and rallying for a 3-2 victory in Harrogate. Friday will be the third SAC tournament meeting between the two teams. Lincoln Memorial won a five-set thriller in the quarterfinals in 2010, while Anderson beat the Lady Railsplitters in straight sets in the quarterfinals in 2014. 
 
The winner of the LMU/Anderson match will take on either Wingate or Carson-Newman for the SAC title at 2 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
The Basics 
 
Friday, November 9 vs. Anderson (SAC semifinals) – 6:30pm
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Quick Hits 
 
- A stunning set-one victory swung the momentum violently in the Lady Railsplitters' favor in their 3-0 win over Queens on Tuesday night. In that set, the Royals had 15-9 and 22-18 leads while also gaining two different opportunities for set point, but LMU rallied for a 27-25 win. The Lady Railsplitters never looked back from there, winning sets two 25-13 and set three 25-16.
 
- LMU posted its second-highest attack percentage of the season in its quarterfinal round victory with a sizzling .333 clip. Rylee Storms led that effort with 15 kills on a .519 clip, while Alicia Kessler had nine kills on nine attempts for a perfect 1.000 mark.  
 
- Erica Whiteaker, Storms, Tone Gill and Emily Walter each earned All-SAC honors on Thursday, as Whiteaker, Gill and Storms were named to the All-SAC second team while Walter was one of six SAC All-Freshman selections. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are seeking their third-ever trip to the SAC title match. Lincoln Memorial earned a spot in the conference finals in both 2008 and 2016, losing both of those appearances in three sets against Wingate. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial suffered a lopsided 25-15, 25-22, 25-21 loss at Anderson in the first meeting between the two teams back on September 22. The Lady Railsplitters hit just .152 compared to a .305 mark for the Trojans. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters led two sets to one against the Trojans in the second meeting this season on October 20 at Mars Gym, but Anderson rallied for 25-21 and 15-11 wins to clinch the come-from-behind victory. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial fell to No. 7 in the most recent NCAA Southeast Region poll despite boasting a 10-2 record over its last 12 matches. The Lady Railsplitters were ranked sixth in the first two polls, but were jumped by Lander in this week's rankings. Eight teams total will represent the Southeast Region in the NCAA tournament – three automatic bids and five at-large bids. 
 
Know the Opponent 
 
- Anderson committed 25 attack errors but also produced a 62-40 edge in kills to power its way to a 25-18, 26-24, 21-25, 25-17 win over Mars Hill in the SAC quarterfinals. Four different Trojans had double-figure kills, led by Liliana Kinder's 16. 
 
- The Trojans ended the regular season with a stunning 3-2 loss at Queens to finish two games back of Wingate for the SAC regular-season title. 
 
- Anderson had five players earn All-SAC recognition. Setter Emily Conlin and middle blocker Hailee Wilhelm landed on the first team, while outside hitter Jayln Knight was a second-team selection and right side Regan Duty was an honorable mention pick. Kinder was the final pick with a spot on the SAC All-Freshman team. 
 
- Wilhelm leads the team with 2.90 kills per set on a SAC-best .329 attack percentage, while Duty (2.73 kills per set), Knight (2.63) and Kinder (2.58) are also averaging well over two kills per frame. Knight paced Anderson in the first meeting against LMU with 16 kills on a .412 clip, while Wilhelm led the charge in the second meeting with 20 kills on a .444 mark. 
 
- Conlin leads the SAC in assists per set with 11.48 and service aces with 54. On top of that, she is 15th in the conference in digs per set with 3.94. 
 
- Freshman Meghan DeVaux has a team-high 469 total digs and averages 4.55 per set. 
 
- Anderson was ranked No. 4 in the latest Southeast Region poll. 
 
- The Trojans are ranked second in the SAC in kills per set with 13.71 and attack percentage with a .212 clip. Opponents are managing just 10.57 kills per set on a .133 hitting percentage against the Anderson defense.