CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With three players reaching double-figure kills, the Anderson University volleyball team snapped a brief two-game skid by capturing a 3-1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23) South Atlantic Conference victory over Queens, Saturday afternoon at the Levine Center.
Anderson improved to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in conference action, while avenging a loss suffered to the Royals in last year's conference tournament and has won 21 of the last 26 meetings with the Royals. Queens fell to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the SAC with its first loss in three outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior outside hitter Marissa Mitter notched her fourth double-double of the season with a match-high 17 kills and added a season-high 19 digs, while recording three block assists. Senior middle blocker Serena Jackson knocked down a season-high 12 kills, while posting four block assists. Fellow senior Rachel Burts collected 10 kills and five total blocks, while hitting .476 on the afternoon.
Junior outside hitter Jayln Knight tallied seven kills and a season-high 22 digs, with sophomore setter Emily Conlin adding her third straight double-double and sixth of the season, with 45 assists and a dozen digs. Junior libero Emily Conard recorded 16 digs and a season-high four aces, with junior Megan Embry adding 12 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The first set featured five ties, but just no lead changes, as the Trojans took a quick 4-2 advantage and refused to surrender the lead. Neither team was able build more than a two-point cushion until Mitter fueled a 5-0 outburst that saw the Trojans turn an 8-8 deadlock into a 13-8 advantage. Mitter ignited the breakout with a kill and added two more during the run, with Knight capping the surge with her second kill of the set.
But the Royals countered with three unanswered points of their own before Mitter slowed QUC with another kill. The Trojans steadily built a 17-13 advantage – their largest of the set – until they claimed the win on the strength of seven unanswered points to close the frame after the Royals had trimmed the lead to just 18-16. Mitter and Jackson combined for four kills during the decisive run.
Second Set
AU posted an impressive .700 hitting percentage early, while knocking down seven kills without an error, but finished the set with a .171 hitting percentage.
The Trojans snapped a 4-4 tie with three quick points from Kathryn Hughes, a block assist by Conlin and Burts and a kill from Burts, and built their largest advantage of the set, at 11-7, before the Royals claimed just their second lead of the set, at 13-11, behind six consecutive points after AU took the four-point advantage.
Queens used a 10-1 surge to turn the four-point Trojan lead into a 17-12 Royals' cushion as AU cooled off to a .200 hitting accuracy. Following an AU timeout, the Black and Gold responded with a 4-1 run, but was unable to get any closer than two down the stretch.
Third Set
After the Royals scored the first point of the frame, AU reeled off a 6-1 run to take a lead they would not relinquish.
The Trojans doubled up Queens, at 12-6, on a kill by Mitter before the Royals crept as close as 13-10 on the strength of four unanswered points. But Mitter and Jackson slowed Queens with back-to-back kills and AU thwarted any attempt by the Royals to rally.
Fourth Set
Jackson and Hughes helped propel the Trojans to a quick 6-1 lead in the fourth and final set, only to see the Royals chip away and wrestle the lead away behind a 7-1 outburst that saw them grab an 8-7 edge.
Following a timeout, AU knotted the score for the second time, at eight apiece, and with the score even again at 11-11, Conard posted three straight aces to break the deadlock.
After Conard gave AU the edge, the Trojans held the narrow lead until Queens reeled off three unanswered points to knot the score at 21 apiece. But AU held off the late charge, as Burts posted her fifth block of the afternoon and Knight followed with her first ace of the match coming at a timely moment, as AU garnered a two-point lead. Following an error by the Royals, Queens held off match point twice before Burts took a feed from Conlin and knocked down the winning point.
NOTES
• AU is now 2-1 in four-set matches.
• Mitter needs 34 kills to become the 11th player in school history to record at least 1,000 career kills.
• Emily Conard has 1,207 career digs and is 11th in the school record books.
• Jackson has 165 career blocks and needs has taken over sole possession of 12th place in the school record books.
• Conlin has six double-doubles on the season.
• Junior libero Megan Embry has posted double-figure digs in three straight matches.
• AU and Queens split each of the 2013, 2014 and 2016 regular-season contests.
• Three of the last nine meetings between AU and Queens have been five-set affairs.
• Mitter has four double-doubles on the season, including two in the last three outings.
UP NEXT
Anderson wraps up the road swing by traveling to Conference Carolinas' foe Erskine on Tuesday. First-serve versus the Flying Fleet in Due West, S.C., is scheduled for 7 p.m.
