ANDERSON, S.C. – After winning three matches in less than 24 hours over the weekend, the Anderson University volleyball team will be looking to extend its win streak to a season-best four victories when the Trojans play host to Newberry in South Atlantic Conference action Tuesday night at the Abney Athletic Center. First-serve in the 22nd meeting between the two programs is slated for 7 p.m.

The winner of the contest will assume sole possession of fourth place in the league standings.

The Trojans
Anderson improved to 12-9 overall and 8-5 in conference play after opening the second half of its conference slate with a convincing sweep of 23rd-ranked Wingate. Over the two-day span, the Trojans knocked off the defending regular-season champions from both the SAC (Wingate) and Conference Carolinas (Erskine), while already surpassing last year's win total with nine matches still remaining in the regular season.

The Trojans are currently tied for fourth with the Wolves, as both squads trail Queens by two games in the win column in the battle for seeding in the postseason SAC Championship. On the strength of the mid-season surge, AU ranks among the top four in the conference in 15 statistical categories, including kills, hitting percentage, assists, service aces, digs and blocks.

Marissa Mitter, a junior from Redondo Beach, Calif., has recorded two straight double-doubles and has a dozen double-doubles on the season, while posting double-figure kills in 15 contests this season. She ranks third in the SAC with a team-high 259 kills and is fifth with her 3.20 kills per set average. Newcomer Rachel Burts is second on the squad with 160 kills on the season, while reaching double-figure kills in the last two matches and six of the last seven outings. She is second in the league with a .311 hitting percentage and the T.L. Hanna High School product paces the conference in total blocks (83) and solo blocks (23), is second with 1.06 blocks per set and ranks third with 60 block assists.

Junior Serena Jackson is just behind with 156 kills and ranks fourth in the SAC with her .297 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Emily Conlin has posted at least 30 assists on 17 occasions this season and has reached the 40+ assist plateau on 10 occasions. The Glendale, Ariz., native leads the league in assists (827), service aces (36), service aces per set (.043) and stands second in the SAC with 9.85 assists per set.

Freshman Kathryn Hughes has had a hot hand lately, averaging 2.13 kills per set over the last four matches and reaching double figures twice. Sophomore Emily Conard has tallied double-figure digs in all but a pair of matches this season and ranks fifth in the SAC with 375 digs and seventh with a 4.46 digs per set average.

The Wolves
Less than 24 hours after the Trojans defeated league-leading Wingate, Newberry (11-10, 8-5 SAC) equaled the nearly-unprecedented feat by topping the Bulldogs in four sets. The win by the Wolves snapped a 50-match losing streak at the hands of the Bulldogs. Newberry has won two straight and seven of its last nine outings and is an even .500 on the road this season with a 4-4 mark.

Newberry was tabbed ninth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 12-16 overall record and narrowly missed out on a berth in the SAC Tournament with an 8-14 mark in the league a season ago. Senior outside hitter Logan Hayward was named Second-Team Preseason All-SAC for the second time in her career after playing in all 27 matches while leading the team with 290 kills and averaging 2.76 kills per set a year ago. She was second on the team with 362 digs and recorded 41 total blocks. Hayward accumulated 14 double-doubles last season.

Fifth-year head coach Todd Hay welcomed back 15 letterwinners this season, including Hayward, along with six newcomers.

The Series vs. Newberry
The Trojans will be searching for their fourth straight regular-season series sweep versus Newberry after claiming its seventh straight win over the Wolves, 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-20) in mid-September.

The Trojans and Wolves have met 21 times over the past 19 seasons, with AU holding a 14-7 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1999 campaign. The two squads met just once between 2005 and 2009, with 11 of the matchups coming since the Trojans joined the SAC in 2010. AU claimed the first three league meetings, with Newberry then winning three straight before Anderson swept each of the last three regular-season series.