ANDERSON, S.C. – With three players reaching double-figure kills, the Anderson volleyball team opened a two-match homestand by rallying from a two-set deficit to defeat Tusculum, 3-2 (27-29, 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 16-14) in South Atlantic Conference action Friday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson (9-6, 6-2 SAC) claimed its third win in four outings and its fifth in seven matches, while avenging last year's sweep at the hands of the Pioneers. Tusculum (7-5, 4-4 SAC) had its win streak halted at two.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior Marissa Mitter posted her eighth double-double of the season with a match-high 22 kills and 17 digs, while senior Rachel Burts added 14 kills on the strength of a .500 attack percentage. The Anderson, S.C., native added seven total blocks on the night. Freshman Kathryn Hughes notched 11 kills, with freshman Emily Conlin notching her fifth double-double of the season with a career-high 60 assists and 11 digs. Sophomore Emily Conard posted a team-best 23 digs, while sophomore Jalyn Knight posted 17 digs. Sophomore Megan Embry also tallied 11 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
A 13-5 run by Tusculum enabled the Pioneers to turn a three-point deficit into a 21-16 advantage, but the Trojans countered with five unanswered points to knot the score at 21 apiece. Junior Serena Jackson posted three of her eight kills to fuel the surge, but Tusculum countered with two straight points with AU's Mitter and Burts combining for three kills to put the Black and Gold on the verge of the win. But the Pioneers regained a 26-25 advantage and with the score even at 27-27, they capitalized on a kill and a Trojan miscue for the win.

Second Set
The second frame featured 12 ties and neither team led by more than two points until the Pioneers snapped a 13-13 deadlock with a 4-1 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. AU crept back within one, at 17-16, but Tusculum posted a 6-1 surge to build a late six-point cushion.

Third Set
Tusculum scored the first four points of the set, with the Trojans answering with four of their own on the strength of kills from Mitter and Burts and a pair of Tusculum errors. AU claimed its first two leads of the set on another pair of Pioneer errors and pushed out to a 15-11 lead, while Tusculum countered with three unanswered points to trim AU's advantage to just one. Hughes first kill of the frame sparked an 8-2 outburst that saw the Trojans take control of the set and claim the six-point victory.

Fourth Set
An early 6-1 run propelled the Trojans to an 8-3 lead and another 4-1 outburst lifted AU to an eight-point cushion, as Mitter, Burts and Hughes each contributed a pair of kills to fuel the surges. Hughes' fourth fill of the set lifted the Trojans to a double-digit, 22-12, lead before Tusculum posted six unanswered points to cut AU's lead to six. Senior Allison Gaminde's block snapped the Pioneer's run, with Conlin and Jessica Harris registering back-to-back kills to wrap up the set.

Fifth Set
The final frame saw 11 ties, with neither team able to build more than a two-point lead. With the score knotted at 14-14, AU capitalized on a Tusculum error and Jackson closed the match with a kill.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
Conlin's 60 assists equals the ninth-highest total for a single match in program history.

NOTABLES
- The Trojans are now 3-1 in five-set matches this season.
- Conard has tallied double-figure digs in 14-of-15 matches this season.
- Conlin now has five double-doubles on the season.
- Conlin has dished out at least 30 assists 12 times this season.
- Mitter has reached double-figure kills 11 times and has eight double-doubles on the season.
- Mitter ranks second in the SAC with 189 kills and fifth in kills per set (3.32).
- Conlin paces the conference with 588 assists and is second in the SAC with 9.80 assists per set.
- Conlin is second in the league with 23 service aces on the season.
- Conard is first in the conference with 278 digs and seventh with 4.63 digs per set.
- Burts leads the SAC with 16 solo blocks and ranks second in the SAC with 40 block assists and 56 total blocks on the year.

UP NEXT
Anderson has a three-day layoff before welcoming Mars Hill to the Abney Center Tuesday night. First-serve versus the Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m.