ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team opens one of its final two homestands of the regular season when the Trojans welcome Lenoir-Rhyne and Brevard to the Abney Athletic Center on Homecoming Weekend.
First-serve versus Lenoir-Rhyne is slated for 7 p.m. Friday, while the Black and Gold squares off against Brevard at noon Saturday.
Admission to each volleyball match is $5, but students, faculty and staff, along with members of the Trojan Club will be admitted free of charge.
The Trojans
Anderson (13-11, 9-7 SAC) has won four of its last six contests after splitting last weekend's conference road matchups, winning, 3-1, at Carson-Newman but falling by an identical score at Lincoln Memorial. With six matches remaining on their regular-season slate, the Trojans are in fifth place in the league standings and lead Catawba by a half-game, while trailing fourth-place Newberry by one game. Queens occupies the third spot in the SAC and holds a three-game lead on AU, but has played two fewer matches.
Junior Marissa Mitter leads the Trojan attack and ranks third in the league with 290 kills on the season. A native of Redondo Beach, Calif., she is fifth in the SAC with 3.15 kills per set and has posted 13 double-doubles this season. Mitter has reached double-figure kills on 17 occasions, including each of the last two outings. Entering the weekend, she is tied for second on the squad in both digs (240) and service aces (24).
Rachel Burts has recorded double-figure kills in nine matches this season, including eight of the last 10. She is second on the squad with 193 kills and ranks third in the league with a .310 hitting percentage. The Anderson, S.C., native leads the SAC with 98 total blocks and 27 solo blocks, while standing third with 71 block assists.
Junior Serena Jackson has 170 kills to her credit and ranks seventh in the SAC with her .294 hitting percentage. Freshman Kathryn Hughes has averaged seven kills per match over the last seven contests, while reaching double-figure kills in four matches on the year.
Freshman setter Emily Conlin has posted at least 30 assists in 19 matches this season and has reached the 40+ assist plateau on 11 occasions. The Glendale, Ariz., native has tallied four straight double-doubles and has 12 on the season. As she has throughout the season, Conlin continues to lead the league in assists (939) and service aces (39), while standing second in the SAC with 9.88 assists per set and aces per set (0.41).
Sophomore Emily Conard has recorded double-figure digs in 22 contests this season, including four straight and 17 of the Trojans' last 18 outings and ranks fifth in the SAC with 442 digs and seventh with a 4.65 digs per set average.
The Bears
Lenoir-Rhyne (7-14, 5-9 SAC) has dropped two of its last three decisions, but will be looking for its second straight road win when the Bears invade the Abney Center Friday night. L-R is coming off a six-day layoff after suffering a 3-1 home setback to Mars Hill last Friday night and is in eighth place in the league standings, while searching for a berth in the eight-team SAC Tournament.
Lenoir-Rhyne, the defending SAC Tournament champion, was tabbed second in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting one of the best seasons in school history with a 25-8 overall record and an 18-4 mark in league play last year. The Bears captured their first-ever SAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional finals for the first time. The Bears, who won 13 straight matches at one point last fall, received three first-place votes in the SAC Coaches' Poll.
Juniors Brooke Redmond and Emily Steele both earned preseason all-league accolades. Redmond was a First-Team All-SAC and All-Southeast Region pick last year after leading the squad with 401 kills to go along with 356 digs and 60 blocks. She was named the MVP of the 2015 SAC Championship and was a Southeast Region All-Tournament honoree.
The Series vs. Lenoir-Rhyne
The Trojans and Bears have met just 16 times over the past 17 seasons, with Lenoir-Rhyne holding a 9-7 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 2000 campaign. The Bears won the first matchup, 3-0, and the series saw a seven-year lapse before L-R edged Anderson, 3-2, during the 2008 season. The two squads have met 14 times as members of the SAC. Anderson has won five of the last seven matchups with Lenoir-Rhyne after sweeping the Bears during the 2014 season before falling twice to L-R last season. Nine of the 16 contests between the two teams have gone the full five-set distance.
Paced by Mitter's double-double and senior Allison Gaminde's season-high 12 kills, the Trojans outlasted L-R, 3-2 (17-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-27, 15-10) earlier this season in Hickory, N.C. Jackson posted nine kills and two blocks. Emily Conlin dished out 55 assists and came up with seven digs. Sophomore Megan Embry added 10 digs on the night and Conard tallied a match-best 28 digs.
The Tornados
Brevard is 5-18 overall on the season, with four of its wins coming in conference play. The Tornados stunned Lenoir-Rhyne in five sets in mid-September in Hickory. Brevard has dropped four of its last five outings and the Tornados split last weekend's SAC decisions - knocking off Tusculum at home in four sets, but dropped a five-set decision to Mars Hill.
The Series vs. Brevard
Despite being separated by less than 70 miles, the Trojans and Tornados have met just 14 times, including the inaugural matchup during the 2006 campaign, with Anderson claiming a 3-1 win in that contest. AU and Brevard have met 13 times over the last seven seasons as members of the South Atlantic Conference, with the Trojans holding an 11-2 advantage in the SAC series between the two schools. Anderson had claimed five consecutive victories in the overall series before the Tornados upended AU in the 2012 season's first meeting. AU avenged the setback with a 3-0 sweep at the Abney Center later that year. The two squads split last year's matchups, with each team defending its home court.
The Trojans defeated Brevard, 3-1, in September behind a balanced offensive and defensive effort. Mitter led the Trojan attack with 12 kills and added four digs. Senior Jessica Harris posted seven kills and four total blocks, with Jackson posting six kills on a .545 hitting percentage. Conlin notched a double-double with 34 assists and 11 digs on the afternoon, while Conard recorded a team-high 14 digs. Embry and Jayln Knight each added a dozen digs apiece.
