HICKORY, N.C. - Despite a match-high 16 kills from Anderson freshman Shannon Gillespie, the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears held off AU, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-22) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Friday night at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
With the win, Lenoir-Rhyne (6-4, 1-1 SAC) has claimed three of its last four contests, while Anderson slipped to 3-8 overall and 1-1 in league play.
The two teams traded narrow wins in the first two sets, with the Trojans turning a 9-7 edge into a 17-12 advantage by taking advantage of miscues by the Bears. But Lenoir-Rhyne ran off four consecutive points and chipped away to pull within 22-21 late in the frame, but AU withstood the rally and held on for the win as freshman Hailey Pittman notched the final point with one of her seven kills on the night.
L-R reversed the score in the second set, going on an early surge to gain an 8-3 lead. Trailing, 21-16, the Trojans reeled off five consecutive points to rally and knot the score for just the third time, but the Bears countered with three unanswered points of their own to regain the edge and hold on for the win.
The third set saw Lenoir-Rhyne take advantage of AU errors and jump out to a quick 3-0 lead before the Trojans pulled even at 5-5. Lenoir-Rhyne called a timeout and went on an 8-0 spurt to reclaim the edge, forcing Anderson to call a timeout. But the Bears slowly built a double-digit lead and took the frame.
AU again capitalized on Lenoir-Rhyne errors to gain the upper hand in the fourth set, pushing out to a 10-5 lead, before the Bears bounced back on the strength of a 14-6 run to claim a brief three-point cushion. But the Trojans refused to surrender, as they answered with a 6-4 outburst of their own to pull within just one, at 23-22, but the Bears held on for the hard-fought win.
Gillespie added 14 digs on the night for her second career double-double, while Pittman and Joy Hiller each added seven kills. Setter Meghan Cautero recorded a match-high 33 assists, while Alix Hooker posted a match-best 19 digs. With her six blocks on the night, junior Tiffany Rowe moved into ninth place on the school's all-time blocks list.
Anderson visits Brevard Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. first-serve versus the Tornados.
