CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team will begin its championship quest as the No. 1 seed at the 2021 Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament, held Friday and Saturday, April 16-17 inside Curry Arena at the Levine Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The top-seeded Railsplitters, who enter postseason play having won five-straight matches and seven of their last eight, have landed a spot in the IVA Tournament semifinals Friday at 7 p.m.
 
Two-time defending IVA Tournament champion LMU will take on either fourth-seeded Tusculum University or fifth-seeded Alderson Broaddus in Friday's semifinal affair. The Pioneers (3-12) and the Battlers (5-7) tussle Friday at 1 p.m. in the opening match of the two-day postseason championship event.
 
Should the Railsplitters win their semifinal bout against either Tusculum or Alderson Broaddus, LMU will vie for the 2021 IVA Tournament title Saturday, April 17 at 4 p.m. The IVA Tournament third-place match will take place Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Both of the Railsplitters' matches this weekend will be streamed live on Stretch Internet and live statistics can be followed via QueensAthletics.com.
 
After having its final three matches of the regular season canceled due to COVID-19 circumstances and a subsequent temporary pause of activities, LMU will be returning to match competition for the first time in 20 days this weekend. The Railsplitters begin their IVA Tournament title defense with a 10-8 overall record and a 5-1 mark against independent teams in 2021. Owning the second-highest winning percentage (.556) and third-most wins of any team in the IVA Tournament, LMU swept both Tusculum and third-seeded Limestone University during the regular season. Splitting a pair of matches with IVA Tournament host and second-seeded Queens University of Charlotte, the Railsplitters defeated the Royals (13-11) 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 26-24) in their last match of the regular season on March 27.
 
LMU won a five-set thriller at Tusculum (25-15, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 18-16) on Feb. 5 and routed the Pioneers 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-20) inside historic Mary E. Mars Gymnasium on March 19. After securing a straight-set win at Limestone (25-23, 25-19, 29-27) on March 14, the Railsplitters outlasted the Saints (12-9) in five sets in Harrogate (25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-14, 16-14) on March 26.
 
Eight of LMU's 10 victories this season have come in straight-set fashion with match sweeps over Lees-McRae, King University twice, Erskine College, Emmanuel College (Ga.), Limestone, Tusculum and Queens. The Railsplitters' No. 21 NCAA RPI is the highest of any IVA Tournament team as the Royals and the Saints are also within the top 25 in RPI with Queens No. 23 and Limestone No. 25.

IVA Tournament History
Boasting a 4-2 all-time record in IVA Tournament matches, LMU has won each of the last two IVA Tournament titles. Winning their last four IVA Tournament outings, the Railsplitters captured their first IVA Tournament in 2018 with a 3-0 dismantling of Queens and a five-set win over Coker University in Philippi, West Virginia. LMU won back-to-back straight-set contests against Daemen College and the Royals to claim the 2019 IVA Tournament inside Mary Mars Gym. Head coach John Cash is an unblemished 4-0 in the IVA Tournament.
 
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 2021 postseason.