HARROGATE, Tenn. - Using its third-highest hitting percentage of the season, Anderson swept Lincoln Memorial, 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-12) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Mars Gym.
"After last night this was a great response," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "We played extremely well, our ball handling was tremendous, and we fought for every ball. I'm really proud of our team and I'm looking forward to a deep run in the tournament."
Anderson (23-7, 16-6 SAC) closed the regular season by winning
its 10th match in the last 12 outings, while handing the Lady
Railsplitters their third consecutive loss. Lincoln Memorial fell
to 16-14 overall and 12-10 in the league.
The Trojans posted a .394 attack percentage as a team, while
hitting better than .300 in all three sets. Senior Shannon
Gillespie led all players with a match-high 19 kills and 13 digs
for her second double-double in three matches. Fellow senior Hailey
Pittman added 15 kills on a .636 hitting percentage. Freshman
Kendall Vallancourt continued her stellar play by adding nine
kills. Priscilla Irizarry paced the Trojans with 43 assists to go
along with 12 digs, for her third straight double-double. Senior
Alix Hooker and sophomore Taylor Underwood combined for 22 digs on
the afternoon.
The Trojans never trailed in the opening set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and behind a .462 hitting percentage for the frame, doubled up the Lady Railsplitters at 12-6. AU steadily built an 18-8 double-digit lead and maintained the margin for the set victory.
LMU scored the first two points of the second set and the score was knotted eight times before Gillespie gave AU a lead it would not surrender, at 12-11, with a kill. The Trojans pushed out to a three-point lead, then posted the final seven points of the set to take the double-digit victory.
AU raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and never trailed, as the Trojans quickly claimed a 10-3 advantage. LMU climbed within 11-6, but could get no closer, with the Black and Gold again claiming a double-digit lead and holding onto the margin for the win.
Anderson has earned the third seed in next week's South Atlantic
Conference Championship, which will be hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne, Nov.
14-16, in Hickory, N.C. The Trojans will face sixth-seeded Lincoln
Memorial in the quarterfinals, with first-serve scheduled for 7:30
p.m. on Friday at Shuford Gymnasium.
