MIAMI, FL – Lincoln Memorial opens postseason play on Friday, April 17, when the Railsplitters face Tusculum in the semifinal round of the 2026 IVA Championship at Barry University in Miami. Match time is set for 2 p.m. Eastern, and the winner will advance to Saturday's 3 p.m. championship match. Tusculum earned the semifinal matchup by defeating Merrimack 3-2 in Thursday's quarterfinal. 

Lincoln Memorial enters the tournament at 15-6 and with a chance to capture its eighth straight IVA championship. The Railsplitters won the league's previous seven titles, and this year's group has continued to set the pace in the conference heading into Miami. Axel van Baars was named IVA Player of the Year, while Inbar Shachar earned IVA Setter of the Year honors as part of LMU's strong postseason awards haul. 

The Railsplitters head into the semifinal coming off a 3-1 win over Tusculum in the regular-season finale on April 11. In that match, LMU hit .333 as a team and got 16 kills from Johan Negron, 12 from van Baars and 10 from Oisin Walsh, while Shachar finished with 41 assists.

Friday's semifinal will be the third meeting of the season between the two programs. LMU first rallied from two sets down to defeat Tusculum 3-2 in Greeneville on March 3 behind 23 kills from van Baars, 18 from Zadyn Labreche and 67 assists from Shachar. The Railsplitters then followed with last Saturday's four-set win in Harrogate, giving them a 2-0 edge in the season series entering the tournament. 

Tusculum brings plenty of momentum into the semifinal after improving to 15-9 with its quarterfinal win over Merrimack. The Pioneers have tested LMU more than once this season, pushing the Railsplitters to five sets in the first meeting and battling through four sets in the second, so Friday's matchup should be another strong challenge in the race for the IVA title. 

Lincoln Memorial's offense has been driven all season by van Baars, Negron and a balanced attack around Shachar, while Walsh and Relja Milosavljevic have helped anchor the front row. That combination has the Railsplitters in position to make another postseason run as they chase a spot in the championship match and a chance to keep their IVA title streak alive.