ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team is set to embark on a two-match South Atlantic Conference road swing through east Tennessee this weekend, as the Trojans travel to defending regular-season champion Carson-Newman Friday and square off against league-leading Lincoln Memorial less than 24 hours later.
First serve versus the Eagles in Jefferson City is set for Friday at 7 p.m., while the Trojans will visit the Lady Railsplitters Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Trojans
Anderson (12-10, 8-6 SAC) saw its three-match win streak snapped by Newberry three nights ago at the Abney Athletic Center and is currently alone in fifth place in the conference standings. The Trojans lead Catawba by 1 ½ games and trail Newberry by one game with eight contests remaining on the league slate.
Junior Marissa Mitter has recorded 12 double-doubles this season, including two in the last three matches, while posting double-figure kills in 15 contests this season. The native of Redondo Beach, Calif., ranks third in the SAC with 262 kills and stands fifth by averaging 3.12 kills per set. She is second on the team and is tied for ninth in the conference with 23 service aces.
Newcomer Rachel Burts is second on the squad with 171 kills on the strength of three straight double-figure outings and has reached double-figure kills in seven of the last eight contests. A native of Anderson, S.C., Burts leads the SAC with a .315 hitting percentage and has recorded a .403 attacking percentage over the last eight matches. She also paces the conference in total blocks (88) and solo blocks (26), is second with 1.09 blocks per set and ranks third with 62 block assists.
Junior Serena Jackson has knocked down 157 kills and ranks sixth in the SAC with her .296 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Emily Conlin has posted at least 30 assists in 17 matches this season and has reached the 40+ assist plateau on 10 occasions. The Glendale, Ariz., native has tallied back-to-back double-doubles and has 10 on the season. She continues to lead the league in assists (854), service aces (36), service aces per set (.041) and ranks second in the SAC with 9.82 assists per set.
Freshman Kathryn Hughes has posted double figure-kills twice in the last five matches and has averaged more than seven kills per match over the last five games. Sophomore Emily Conard has tallied double-figure digs in 20 contests this season and ranks fifth in the SAC with 392 digs and seventh with a 4.51 digs per set average.
The Eagles
Carson-Newman (3-17, 2-10 SAC) got off to a slow start this season and has yet to display the form of last season's NCAA Elite Eight squad. The Eagles opened the season by dropping four straight decisions to ranked opponents at West Florida's Hampton Inn-Vitational and have yet to get untracked this season.
Carson-Newman was tabbed fourth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after winning a school-record 29 matches and winning the Southeast Region title before falling in the quarterfinals of the 2015 NCAA Championship. Reigning SAC Freshman of the Year Natalie Harris is back for her sophomore campaign and is tied for fourth in the league with 67 total blocks on the season.
The Series vs. Carson-Newman
The Trojans and Eagles have met just 17 times over the past seven seasons, with 15 of the matchups occurring since AU joined the league in 2010. The overall series, which began in 2008, sees Carson-Newman holding a 10-7 edge on the strength of winning the first four meetings and four of the last six matchups with the Trojans.
The Trojans defeated Carson-Newman in a five-set (25-16, 25-15, 20-25, 24-26, 15-10) thriller earlier this season at the Abney Athletic Center. Hughes led the Trojans with 13 kills on the night, with Jackson and Mitter each adding 10 kills apiece. Mitter also tallied three service aces and added 14 digs. Conlin handed out 41 assists, Conard posted a match-best 29 digs. Sophomore Jayln Knight came up with 11 digs and Megan Embry notched three aces.
The Lady Railsplitters
Lincoln Memorial is a stellar 17-3 overall on the season and leads the conference with an 11-1 record. The only blemish on the Lady Railsplitter's league slate is a 3-0 road loss at Wingate. LMU has won nine of its last 10 matches and has won all five home contests this season. The Lady Railsplitters opened a three-match homestand by blanking Carson-Newman, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-20) three nights ago in Harrogate, Tenn.
The Lady Railsplitters were predicted to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll following a season that saw LMU win six of its final eight contests and finish with a 16-14 overall record and a 12-10 mark in conference play, tying for fourth place in the final standings. The Lady Railsplitters returned nine letterwinners from last season's squad, including junior outside hitter Kiera Holland, who was named to the preseason All-SAC first team. Holland, a two-time All-SAC second team pick, led the Lady Railsplitters in kills per set last season with a 2.59 average, while posting 282 total kills.
The Series vs. Lincoln Memorial
The Trojans and Lady Railsplitters have met 19 times over the last 14 seasons, including 15 meetings since AU joined the South Atlantic Conference for the 2010 campaign. LMU holds a 14-5 advantage in the overall series between the two schools, with Anderson snapping a nine-match skid at the hands of the Lady Railsplitters in the first meeting three seasons ago and defeating LMU three times during the 2014 campaign, including a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-13) decision in the opening round of the SAC Championship.
LMU swept last season's regular-season matchups and outlasted AU, 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-23) earlier this season at the Abney Center. Hughes led the Trojan attack for the second straight outing, with nine kills. Jackson added eight kills, while not committing an error in 12 attacks for a stellar .667 hitting percentage. The Charlotte, N.C. native added five total block on the afternoon. Burts posted seven kills and three total blocks, with Conlin tallying 27 assists and 11 digs. Conard came up with a team-high 24 digs, while Knight and Embry each added 10 digs apiece.
