ANDERSON, S.C. – After opening the season with three consecutive wins at last weekend's Georgia College's Bobcat Invitational, the Anderson University volleyball team is set to travel south for the USC Aiken Invitational, hosted by the Pacers at the Convocation Center on Friday and Saturday.
The scene is similar to the last time the Trojans competed in the USC Aiken Invitational, which was early in the 2014 campaign when AU was coming off three impressive wins at the Bellarmine Invitational. The 2014 edition of Trojan volleyball opened the season with wins over Bellarmine, Salem International and Mercyhurst in Louisville, Ky., and followed up with four matches in Aiken. AU went 3-1 at the 2014 USC Aiken Invitational, with its lone loss coming at the hands of the Pacers.
Anderson will square off against Lander and Augusta on Friday and will wrap up its season-opening seven-match road swing with matchups against Mount Olive and USCA Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans
AU was tabbed to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, with sophomore Emily Conlin and seniors Rachel Burts, Marissa Mitter and Serena Jackson each earning preseason all-conference accolades.
Mitter leads the team with 33 kills and was named to the Bobcat Classic All-Tournament team after helping lead the Trojans to three straight sweeps over the weekend, including a career-high six aces against Georgia College. AU started the season 3-0 for the first time since the 2014 squad opened the campaign with four consecutive victories.
She reached double-figure kills in all three matches and was just shy of a double-double in the season-opening sweep of Emmanuel and posted a career-best six aces in the sweep of Georgia College.
Conlin leads the conference in assists per set after recording match-highs in all three contests last weekend, posting a double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs in the season-opening sweep of Emmanuel, while adding 37 assists and eight digs in the sweep of Lees-McRae. Conlin wrapped up the weekend with 38 assists, seven digs and three aces in the sweep of host Georgia College.
The reigning SAC Freshman of the Year leads the league in in service aces per set (0.78/set), assists per set (12.44/set) and is fifth in overall assists, despite having played in six fewer sets than the league leader.
Burts notched 23 kills last weekend on the strength of a .444 hitting percentage and is seventh in the league with 1.11 blocks per set. Junior Jayln Knight added 21 kills and 32 digs, with Jackson tallying 20 kills and eight blocks. Junior Emily Conard stands seventh in the league with 4.67 digs per set.
Lander
The Bearcats, who were a preseason pick to finish fourth in the Peach Belt Conference Coaches' Poll, knocked off Coker, Southern Wesleyan, North Greenville and the host Wolves at the Newberry Invitational last weekend to begin the season with a spotless 4-0 record.
Lander lost All-Southeast Region performer Halle Dotson from a year ago, but brought in seven newcomers and returns junior setter Sophia Perkins, who led the team with 632 assists last season. The Bearcats are coming off their third straight 20+ win season and have made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Southeast Regional, while going 21-12 last season.
The Series vs. Lander
The Trojans have won two of the last three matchups with Lander – both coming in the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center in 2010 and 2012 – but the Bearcats won the last contest, edging AU 3-1 in the Electric City during the 2013 campaign.
Augusta
The Lady Jaguars were tabbed third in the Peach Belt Conference Coaches Preseason Poll, behind USC Aiken and Flagler and just in front of Lander. Augusta finished seventh in the league standings and went 17-16 overall last season after advancing to their third straight PBC Tournament and their 25th all time.
Augusta (3-2) collected wins over Winston-Salem State and California (Pa.), while falling to Queens and Wingate at the Queens Invitational last weekend and is coming off a four-set win over Belmont Abbey in its home opener last Tuesday.
Sophomore middle blocker Jessica Hedrick, the reigning PBC Freshman of the Year, earned a spot on the Preseason All-Conference Team after ranked fourth in the PBC in total blocks, 10th in blocks per set and seventh in solo blocks last season. She led the team and was ninth in the conference with a .292 hitting percentage, was fourth on the team with 266 total kills and reached double-digit kills eight times.
The Series vs. Augusta
The Trojans are 6-4 versus the Lady Jags over the last nine seasons, with Augusta defeating AU in each of their last two meetings. The fourth-seeded Lady Jags outlasted No. 5 seed Anderson, 3-2 (25-23, 27-25, 22-25, 15-13) in the 2014 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament, then swept AU in their last meeting at Christenberry Fieldhouse during the 2015 season.
Mitter tallied 11 kills against the Lady Jags in the NCAA Tournament setback, while recording seven kills and four digs in the 2015 matchup. Conard paced Anderson with 16 digs, with Megan Embry collecting seven digs.
Mount Olive
After finishing last season with a 10-18 overall record and a 5-11 mark in Conference Carolinas action, the Trojans were a preseason selection to finish
ninth in the Conference Carolinas Coaches' Poll.
Seniors Casey Fiechter and Britni Johnson and sophomore Kamber Skeen were named as the players to watch for the Trojans. Fiechter led the team with 407 digs last season, averaging 4.07 per set. Johnson, an outside hitter, saw action in 25 matches during the 2016 season, collecting 193 kills on 679 attacks and recorded 23 blocks. Skeen, the primary setter for the team last season, returned after recording 834 assists over 104 sets played. She had the second-most aces on the team with 34 and tallied 276 digs as a freshman.
The Series vs. Mount Olive
Saturday afternoon's match will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2009, when both schools were members of Conference Carolinas.
USC Aiken
The host Pacers were the preseason favorite to win the seven-team Peach Belt Conference title after going 31-5 a year ago and advancing to the NCAA's Elite Eight before falling to second-seeded Palm Beach.
USC Aiken is an even 2-2 on the young season after opening the campaign at the West Florida Tournament. Freshman Alie Smith recorded 49 kills and 44 digs to go along with six blocks and four aces on the weekend, while senior Alicia Hines posted 29 kills and hit .385.
The Series vs. USC Aiken
The two teams met for the first time during the 2002 campaign, with USCA claiming a 3-0 win, then the series took a seven-year hiatus. USC Aiken leads the all-time series 4-1 and has won two straight past the Trojans, including a 3-1 decision in 2014 at the Convocation Center. The lone Trojan win was a 3-2 road victory during the 2010 season.
Jackson posted three kills and hit .429 in the 2014 matchup, while Mitter added four kills and eight digs.