HARROGATE, Tenn. – Four years ago Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball had yet to win a match and was gearing up for its inaugural contest, but today the Railsplitters step onto the court having won 20 of their last 27 matches and back-to-back Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament titles. Coming off a 18-7 campaign in 2019 and a second consecutive IVA Tournament championship, one in which LMU did not give up a set, the Railsplitters are poised for another successful year.
 
However, wins will not come easy in 2020 as LMU faces a daunting schedule, one that is filled with storied programs and ultra-talented teams.
 
"Hosting a preseason No. 1 team and returning with a Saint Francis team that is extraordinarily strong, along with all the Conference Carolinas and IVA programs we play here, we're pretty excited," Railsplitter volleyball head coach John Cash said. "Playing those teams at home gives us a little bit of a good feel because we've done well here but the schedule overall is strong. We really wanted to push it this year to see where we are at and what we are made of."
 
Up first for the Railsplitters is the University of Mount Olive from Conference Carolinas, who will visit Mary Mars Gymnasium Tuesday night at 7 p.m. to begin LMU's 2020 season.
 
"We don't have a choice but to have our heads right because Mount Olive is very talented," commented coach Cash. "When you talk about the beauty pageant of what a team should look like at the Division I level, they definitely fit that role physically. They play the game as a very physical team and they are aggressive. They're fun to play against because we're a mirror of sorts in our physicality style of play but at the same time, we're a little bit different. It's a budding rivalry I would say in how a lot of the guys know each other pretty well yet come from completely different backgrounds."
 
Following Tuesday night's season opener, the Railsplitters hit the road for a pair of weekend matches at Lindenwood Friday night in St. Charles, Missouri, and at Quincy University in Illinois Saturday night. First serve of both weekend matches is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST.
 
"With Lindenwood and Quincy being in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), they are more than battle tested every year and they are always good," spoke Cash. "I know the coaches of those teams very well and I know they will be prepared."
 
"Quite frankly, our January is brutal," Cash continued. "Being in the IVA allows us schedule that way, which is great for us to find out where we are at, but our January is tough. These first three matches are definitely going to get us ready for the rest of the year and how we prepare. You look at the boxes we have and are we checking them off as we're going? We'll know right away on Tuesday if we're moving in the right direction or not. We're excited about that though, we're ready to get out there and play. That's the only way we're going to find out."
 
The one match LMU has had circled on the calendar is its Monday, Jan. 20 home date with American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason No. 1 and three-time national finalist Hawai'i. The Rainbow Warriors, who reached the NCAA title match a year ago, will take on the Railsplitters at 8 p.m. from inside Tex Turner Arena. If Hawai'i holds onto its preseason ranking in the first regular season release of the AVCA coaches poll next Monday, the Warriors would be just the second top-ranked NCAA team in any sport to visit Harrogate. Furthermore, Hawai'i would be the first NCAA Division I No. 1 team the school has hosted.
 
LMU will also take on Ohio State on the road next Thursday, Jan. 16 and face preseason No. 6 Lewis University Saturday, March 14.
 
Key pieces to the Railsplitters' recent success return for the winter and spring season with top seniors Evan Cory and Pedro Carvalho being joined by standout juniors AJ Risavy and Logan Kerley. LMU also welcomes eight freshman to this year's squad with newcomer middle hitter Matthew Gentry, defensive specialist/libero Attia Soliman, outside hitter/middle hitter Will Eiken, outside hitters Cole Campisano, Ishaan Melwani and Ethan Hubbard, middle hitter Vukasin Tuzlancic and right side hitter Justin Sharfenaker.
 
The Railsplitters definitely added size to their 2020 roster with Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, native Tuzlancic standing at 6-foot-10, Eiken at 6-foot-9, Gentry at 6-foot-7 and Sharfenaker at 6-foot-6.
 
A total of 12 letter winners return for LMU with outside hitter/opposite Randy Rivera and outside hitter NyJaee Washington rounding out the Railsplitters' four-man senior class. Redshirt junior outside hitter Nico Triana and junior defensive specialist/libero Matt Bridenbaugh are LMU's two other upperclassmen, while the Railsplitters feature four second-year players in sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker, outside hitter Johansen Negron, setter Ryan Foy and outside hitter Jacob Titus.
 
After leading the nation in blocks per set in 2018 at 2.84, LMU ranked third in the country in the category in 2019 with 2.56 per set. The Railsplitters led the nation in opponent hitting percentage (.213) and were second in aces per set (1.92), not to mention holding the seventh-best winning percentage among all NCAA Division I-II programs (.720).
 
Opposite Cory, the defending Off the Block Independent Teams Player of the Year and a Google Cloud Academic All-America® At-Large First Team member, appeared on Off the Block's 2020 Bryan Ivie Award preseason watch list after leading LMU in 2019 with 360 kills, 57 service aces and 141 digs. A native of Metairie, Louisiana, Cory established the single-season program record for kills, kills per set (4.04), attack attempts (769), service aces, service aces per set (0.64), points (471.5) and points per set (5.3). The 6-foot-4 senior was tops nationally among opposites in both aces and aces per set and led the nation in points per set, while ranking eighth in kills and attacks per set (8.64), 10th in blocks per set (1.11) and 23rd in hitting percentage (.341). In three seasons as a Railsplitter, Cory has tallied 871 kills (3.30/set), 123 aces (0.47/set) and 409 digs (4.09/set). 
 
Hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, middle hitter Carvalho earned a spot on Off the Block's 2020 Ryan Millar Award preseason watch list after leading the nation each of the last two seasons in blocks per set. In 2019, Carvalho averaged 1.45 blocks per set after averaging 1.54 in 2018. The 6-foot-7 senior ranked 45th among all NCAA Division I-II volleyball players in aces per set (0.31) and finished with 25 service aces and a team-best 116 blocks. For his career, Carvalho has racked up 374 blocks in 284 sets (1.32/set) and has led LMU in attack percentage for three-straight seasons with a career hitting mark of .370.
 
Risavy was one of the best setters in the nation in 2019 and landed a spot on Off the Block's 2020 Lloy Ball Award preseason watch list. After being named IVA Freshman of the Year by Off the Block in 2018, the Edwardsville, Illinois, native was eighth in the country in assists per game (9.98) a year ago. The 6-foot-7 Risavy earned IVA All-Tournament honors as the Railsplitters earned the 2019 championship, defeating both Daemen College and Queens in sweeps. He has amassed 1,737 assists (9.34/set) over his first two collegiate seasons.
 
Cory, Carvalho and Risavy were all 2019 Off the Block All-Independent Team selections.
 
Libero/outside hitter Kerley is LMU's third-leading returning attacker after tallying 110 kills (1.90/set) a season ago. The Penn Valley, California, native also added 15 blocks, nine aces and 71 digs. Sophomore Walker was efficient for the Railsplitters in 2019 as a true freshman, attacking at .325 with 100 kills and collecting 16 aces. The 6-foot-6 Englewood, Ohio, native is LMU's third-leading returning blocker with 58 blocks last year.
 
Coach Cash enters his third season at the helm of Railsplitter volleyball where he has compiled a 32-20 (.615) record across the last two seasons. Leading LMU to a perfect 12-0 home record in 2019, Cash has guided the Railsplitters to a 21-1 (.955) mark inside Mary Mars Gymnasium since his arrival.
 
"We feel like we've made great strides in the last two years, building the program and building our base," stated Cash. "We feel like we could be one of the deeper teams in the country this year even though we are young. We've got a lot of young talent, which bodes well for us."
 
"We're ready to go," remarked Cash. "When you go through the whole fall and play against each other, even though the practices have been high level and intense, it's still against each other. We really focused in on the scrimmages we played, and we did very well there. We're ready to tie that into play."
 
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 volleyball throughout the 2020 season.