HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University women's volleyball team opens South Atlantic Conference play on Friday night with a 7 p.m. battle against the Queens Royals inside of Mary Mars Gymnasium. 
 
The Lady Railsplitters (4-2) will be looking to snap a two-match skid after falling to Georgia College and Montevallo last weekend at the Pioneer Volleyball Classic in Greeneville, Tenn. Lincoln Memorial went there seeking its first 5-0 start since 2007, but left with a six-set losing streak instead. 
 
Queens (5-4, 1-1 SAC) enters the weekend riding a three-match losing streak. The Royals won five of their first six matches but have since dropped three consecutive straight-set decisions to Wingate, USC Aiken and Lander. 
 
Lincoln Memorial was originally scheduled to face Catawba on Saturday, but that match has been rescheduled for Tuesday, September 25 due to Hurricane Florence's imminent landfall in the Carolinas. 
 
The Basics
 
Friday, September 14 vs. Queens at 7 p.m.
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Quick Hits
 
- The Lady Railsplitters grabbed a convincing 25-19 win over Georgia College in set one on Friday, but the Bobcats responded with 25-20, 26-24 and 25-17 victories to hand LMU its first loss of the season. After hitting .273 in the opening frame, the Lady Railsplitters finished the match with a .134 attack percentage and 31 attack errors. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial fell in straight sets to Montevallo on Saturday, losing by scores of 28-26, 25-20 and 25-20. The Lady Railsplitters had three opportunities to win the first set but the Falcons ended the frame on a 3-0 run to turn the tide. LMU again struggled offensively, hitting a season-worst .090 with a season-low 35 kills. 
 
- Despite last weekend's struggles, the Lady Railsplitters are ranked third in the SAC in hitting percentage (.204), kills per set (12.85) and assists per set (12.25). 
 
- Freshman outside hitter Emma Flowers leads the team in kills with 57 and kills per set with 3.00. Lindsey Nartker is second in both of those categories with 2.65 kills per set and 45 total kills. Alicia Kessler is contributing 2.06 kills per set on a team-best .313 attack percentage. Rylee Storms leads the Lady Railsplitters with 137 attempts, but has put up only 1.80 kills per set on a .080 clip. 
 
- Freshman setter Emily Walter is ranked fourth in the SAC with 9.65 kills per set. Senior libero Erica Whiteaker is again among the league leaders in both digs and aces per set, ranking second in both categories with 6.85 and 0.60, respectively. 
 
- Including this season's 4-0 mark at Mary Mars, the Lady Railsplitters are 12-6 on their home court since the start of the 2017 campaign. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters finished seventh in the SAC last season with an 8-12 league record. Lincoln Memorial was picked fifth in the preseason poll in the lead-up to the 2018 campaign. 
 
Know the Opponent 
 
- The Royals opened SAC play last week with a gritty 3-2 win over Coker before falling in three sets against Wingate. Queens enters Friday's matchup having lost nine straight sets dating back to that loss to the Bulldogs.
 
- Queens is a solid offensive unit that ranks fourth in the SAC in kills per set (12.59) and assists per set (11.78) despite sporting the seventh-best attack percentage with a .177 clip. Opponents are hitting .160 with 12.16 kills per set against the Royal defense. 
 
- Sophomore Casey Tarvin powers the Queens attack with 3.74 kills per set on a .215 attack percentage while also contributing 3.48 digs per frame. Fellow sophomore outside hitter Jordan Proszenyak is putting up 2.69 kills and 3.31 digs per set, while sophomore middle hitter Logan Witt has provided 2.19 kills per set on a team-best .295 attack percentage. 
 
- Another sophomore, libero Jaycee Jones leads the Royals with 5.31 digs per set. Freshman setter Alexandria Becerra has logged 8.30 assists and 3.27 digs per set. 
 
- Queens is the defending SAC tournament champions as the Royals ended the 2017 season with a 23-8 overall record, including a 14-6 mark in SAC play. However, Queens graduated two of its top three attackers (Rebecca Cochran, Jessica Raines) and its starting setter (Sydney Kunz) from that team. 
 
- The Royals are 3-2 at home and 1-1 on the road so far this season. 
 
Head-to-Head
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 7-7 all-time against Queens, but the Royals have won five of the last six meetings, including a 3-1 win at Mars Gym in November 2017. 
 
- LMU is 4-2 at home in the series. The Lady Railsplitters last defeated Queens in 3-0 fashion in Harrogate on October 1, 2016.