HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters return to the friendly confines of Mary Mars Gymnasium on Tuesday night when they welcome the struggling Catawba Indians to town for a South Atlantic Conference clash set for a 7 p.m. first serve.
Lincoln Memorial (7-3, 3-1 SAC) saw its three-match winning streak come to a close in a 3-0 loss at SAC-leading Anderson on Saturday, but still remains in sole possession of third place in the league standings, while Catawba (5-10, 1-3 SAC) was beaten by both Lenoir-Rhyne and Mars Hill this past weekend to fall to eighth place in the standings.
The Basics
Tuesday, September 25 vs. Catawba – 7pm
Live Stats
Twitter
Quick Hits
- The Lady Railsplitters grinded out a 3-2 win at Newberry on Friday to improve to 3-0 in SAC play and push their winning streak to three.
Rylee Storms led the charge with 15 kills and four block assists, while
Kai Wesemann and
Tone Gill had 11 kills apiece.
Erica Whiteaker provided 37 digs and
Emily Walter posted yet another double-double with 39 assists and 16 digs.
- With leading hitter
Emma Flowers sidelined by an injury, Lincoln Memorial couldn't get anything going offensively and succumbed to Anderson – who captured its 11th straight win – in straight sets on Saturday. The Trojans finished with a 49-30 edge in kills and hit .305 compared to just .152 for the Lady Railsplitters.
- The Lady Railsplitters hope to get Flowers back on Tuesday, as the freshman outside hitter leads the team with 2.92 kills per set on a solid .247 attack percentage. Flowers has produced double-digit kills in four of her eight appearances this season.
- Lincoln Memorial is 6-0 at Mary Mars Gym this season, where the Lady Railsplitters most recently defeated Queens and Tusculum last week. LMU has not lost on its home court since a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Wingate on November 11, 2017.
- Whiteaker, who broke LMU's career digs record in last week's win over Tusculum, is having another remarkable season for the Lady Railsplitters. The senior libero leads the SAC in digs per set with 7.34 and ranks third in total digs with 257. She is also second in the conference with 0.51 aces per set. The Kingston Springs, Tenn., native also ranks second in the nation in terms of digs per set.
- As a unit, the Lady Railsplitters are ranked third in the SAC with a .190 attack percentage and first in aces per set with 2.09. LMU is third in the league in points per set with 16.3.
Know the Opponent
- Catawba is 1-6 over its last seven matches, which includes straight-set losses to Lenoir-Rhyne, West Alabama, Augusta and Barton. The Indians' last win came in a five-set decision against Queens on September 18.
- The Indians are ranked ninth in the SAC in kills per set with 11.43 and 10th in attack percentage with a lowly .153 mark. Catawba also leads the league with 309 attack errors.
- Sophomore outside hitter Jade Brooks leads the Indians with 2.36 kills per set, but is hitting just .121 and had committed a team-high 73 errors. Sophomore right side Micah Ensor and junior middle Allie Grubb have produced an even 2.00 kills per set, while Grubb leads the team with a .259 attack percentage. Kimberly Hurtado and Macy Eidenberger have accounted for 1.89 and 1.77 kills per set, respectively.
- Junior Morgan Hester leads the Indians with 8.89 assists per set to go along with 2.58 digs per frame. Freshman Morgan Harrison has also contributed 3.00 assists per set in limited playing time. Allison Benton leads the team with 4.25 digs per frame.
- Catawba is last in the SAC in blocks per set with 1.31. All told, opponents are averaging 12.24 kills per set on a .197 attack percentage against the Indians so far this season.
Series History
- The Lady Railsplitters own a 16-12 mark all-time against Catawba, including a 7-4 record in Harrogate.
- Lincoln Memorial swept the season series in 2017, winning 3-1 in Harrogate and 3-1 on the road. In total, the Lady Railsplitters have won 12 of the last 14 meetings in the series.
- The Indians last beat the Lady Railsplitters in a 3-0 decision on November 4, 2016.
