HARROGATE, Tenn. – Entering the second week of 2020, Lincoln Memorial University athletics will have five programs in action with men's volleyball beginning its fourth season Tuesday night and men's and women's indoor track and field returning to competition this weekend. Men's and women's basketball continue their South Atlantic Conference schedules and begin a three-game homestand Wednesday night against UVA Wise in Tex Turner Arena with the doubleheader presented by Powell Valley National Bank. Railsplitter volleyball kicks off a three-match week by hosting Mount Olive in Mary Mars Gymnasium, while men's and women's indoor track and field head to Johnson City, Tennessee, for the ETSU Invitational.  
 
Throughout 2019-20, LMU athletics will provide a look ahead at the week's calendar of athletic events, both home and away, previewing each team's competition/s and highlighting program's news, notes, performances and more.
 
Men's Volleyball
On the heels of back-to-back Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament titles, the Railsplitter volleyball team begin their 2020 campaign this week with a trio of matches. Tuesday night, LMU will host Mount Olive out of Conference Carolinas to kick off its fourth season of men's volleyball. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. from inside Mary Mars Gymnasium.
 
This weekend, the Railsplitters hit the road to face a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) members in Lindenwood University and Quincy University. LMU takes on Lindenwood in St. Charles, Missouri, Friday night at 8 p.m. EST before traveling to Quincy for a 8 p.m. first serve Saturday night.
 
Returning 12 letter winners and welcoming eight freshman, the Railsplitters bring back top seniors Evan Cory and Pedro Carvalho in addition to standout juniors AJ Risavy and Logan Kerley. Cory, Carvalho and Risavy have already gained national attention after being named to Off The Block's 2020 Bryan Ivie Award, Ryan Millar Award and Lloy Ball Award watch lists, respectively.

Facing one of the most daunting schedules in the nation, LMU will host preseason No. 1 and three-time national finalist Hawai'i on Monday, Jan. 20 inside Tex Turner Arena. The Rainbow Warriors reached the NCAA title match a year ago and could quite possibly be the second top-ranked NCAA team in any sport to visit Harrogate. Furthermore, Hawai'i would be the first NCAA Division I No. 1 program the school has hosted. The Railsplitters also have a date at Ohio State Thursday, Jan. 16 and at preseason No. 6 Lewis University Saturday, March 14.
 
The Trojans will also be starting their season inside Mary Mars Gym Tuesday night and have split matches with LMU in their two trips to Harrogate. During the Railsplitters' inaugural season in 2017, Mount Olive defeated LMU in a five-set thriller but the Blue and Gray avenged that match with a straight-set sweep over the Trojans last January. Last March, Mount Olive claimed a four-set win against the Railsplitters in LMU's lone trip to Mount Olive, giving the Trojans a 2-1 lead in the series.
 
Friday night's tilt at Lindenwood will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs with the Lions taking the first matchup in three sets two seasons ago in Missouri. The Railsplitters are 1-2 against Quincy and will be facing the Hawks for the fourth consecutive year. Quincy won the first two meetings between the two teams, in four sets in 2017 and five sets in 2018, but LMU ousted the Hawks in straight sets last March inside Mary Mars Gym. A hard-fought 15-13 fifth set went Quincy's way during the Railsplitters' only other trip to Quincy, Illinois, in 2018.
 
Women's Basketball
The LMU women's basketball team hosts a pair of SAC games this week as they will face UVA Wise Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and Catawba Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are currently 4-5 on the season and 3-3 in conference play following a loss at Newberry this past Saturday. Freshman Lauren Flowers currently leads the team in scoring with a 12.7 points per game average, while senior Shermeria Quarles is averaging 8.6 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds a game. Flowers also leads the team in assists and ranks ninth in the SAC in that category.
 
Wednesday evening will be the 26th all-time meeting between UVA Wise and LMU, but the first between the two as conference opponents. The Lady Railsplitters are 13-1 at home versus the Cavaliers, with the lone home loss coming in the 1977-78 season. UVA Wise is led by senior Cynita Webb's 17.6 points a game. Webb, who scored her 1,000th career point on Saturday, leads the league in field-goal percentage (.609) and is second in the SAC in rebounds with 12.4 a game. Freshman Caitlin Ross is averaging 14.3 points and 6.1 assists per game, while Kaylee Johnson (12.6 PPG) and Nia Vanzant (10.8) are also averaging double digits in scoring.
 
Catawba is currently the hottest team in the conference and is ranked second in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll. Taisha DeShazo leads the Catawba Indians and ranks third in the SAC with 17.5 points a game. She is also fourth in the conference in made three pointers, sixth in made field goals and seventh in made free throws. Talia Barnes leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 rebounds a game.
 
Men's Basketball
The Railsplitters (13-1, 6-0) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 13 over the weekend with their ninth victory of 2019-20 by at least 20 points with an 87-61 SAC win at Newberry Saturday. Led by redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield's season-best 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, LMU remained perfect in league play and picked up its fifth road triumph of the season despite being short-handed.
 
Behind 48.5 percent shooting and 12 made three pointers, the Railsplitters' stingy defense held the Wolves' leading scorer and conference's leading rebounder to only eight points and three boards. Outscoring its opponents by an average of 25.7 points, which is ranks third nationally, LMU leads the country in field-goal percentage defense (37.1%) and is one of only two teams among all levels of NCAA basketball to be shooting 80 percent at the free-throw line, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 50 percent from the field.
 
This week, the Railsplitters tip off a three-game homestand with UVA Wise Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Catawba Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers enter Wednesday's affair 5-7 on the season and 1-5 in SAC play with league losses at Queens University of Charlotte (90-66), at Tusculum (86-84), versus Newberry (73-67), at Catawba (109-87) and versus Mars Hill (92-87). UVA Wise's lone conference win came at home, a 90-75 victory over Anderson.
 
Saturday's game will be a battle of SAC and NCAA Division II Southeast Region leaders as the Indians hold a 5-1 league mark with their lone conference loss coming in double overtime to Newberry (91-84).
 
LMU is 23-9 all-time versus the Cavaliers of UVA Wise, who was formerly known as Clinch Valley College, and holds a 15-1 record at home in the series. Going for their seventh-straight victory over the Cavaliers, the Railsplitters' lone loss to UVA Wise in Harrogate came in November of 1996 (68-62).
 
Owning a 22-12 record in the series, LMU and Catawba will meet for the 35th time on the hardwood Saturday. The Railsplitters have won 12 of their last 13 and 16 of the last 18 outings with the Indians and are 14-2 versus Catawba in Harrogate. Prior to a 96-83 loss to the Indians last January, LMU had won 11-straight in the series. Avenging their loss, the Railsplitters defeated Catawba 81-74 on senior night last season. The last time the Indians earned a win inside Tex Turner Arena was on Feb. 20, 2008 (70-67).
 
Saturday's game will very likely be a top-25 matchup, which would mark the second time Catawba has visited Harrogate nationally ranked. Unranked LMU defeated the then 11th-ranked Indians 85-70 on Jan. 21, 2009.
 
Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field
The LMU men's and women's indoor track and field teams return to competition this weekend at the ETSU Invitational in Johnson City. The meet kicks off Friday morning at 10:45 a.m. and continues Saturday with an 8:30 a.m. start time.
 
Both squads are coming off successful outings at Roanoke College's Bast-Cregger Invitational the first weekend in December, where they shattered school records in the women's 300 meter sprint and men's 1000 meter run. After over a month off from competing, LMU Director of Track and Field Rochelle Black is looking for strong performances from sophomore Jaeden Douglass in the 400 meter sprint and 800 meter run and sophomore distance runner Michael Jakubek. Freshman Olivia Scott will be running the 400 meter event and sophomore Maria Chellah, who is coming off a successful cross country season, will be one to watch in the distance events.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter and Lady Railsplitter athletics throughout 2019-20.