ANDERSON, S.C. – After a four-week postponement, the Anderson University volleyball team is set to welcome Lenoir-Rhyne to the Abney Athletic Center for a South Atlantic Conference matchup, Wednesday night. First-serve versus the Bears is slated for 7 p.m.
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 matchup with Lenoir-Rhyne was originally slated as the Trojans' home opener and the conference opener for both squads on Sept. 11, but was postponed due to the lingering effects of Hurricane Irma.
The Trojans
Anderson (14-3, 8-1 SAC) enters the midweek contest riding a nine-match win streak and owns the best record through 17 matches in school history, while getting off to the best start in league play since joining the SAC in 2010. The Trojans are a perfect 4-0 at home, and going back to last season AU has won eight straight home contests.
With Wednesday night's contest marking the halfway point of AU's conference schedule, the Trojans are second in the SAC standings, 1 ½ games behind unbeaten and league-leading Wingate and 1 ½ games in front of Queens. AU's current nine-match win streak equals the '02 team for the second-longest win streak in school history and marks the longest since the 2004 squad reeled off 11 straight wins.
In the latest NCAA rankings, the Trojans are sixth in the nation by holding opponents to a .104 hitting percentage and rank 20th in the country with 13.07 assists per set. The Trojans lead the conference in assists and rank second in the SAC in kills, kills per set, hitting percentage, assists per set, service aces, aces per set, points and points per set.
Sophomore setter Emily Conlin has led the league in assists per set through the first half of the season and has regained the lead in assists per set. The Glendale, Ariz., native is 12th in the nation in assists per set and 44th in total assists. Outside hitter Marissa Mitter paces the conference in kills and points, while ranking second in both kills per set and points per set. A native of Redondo Beach, Calif., Mitter continues to climb the AU record books. She has 1,067 career kills and needs 10 kills to surpass Michelle Yarborough (1999-2002) for ninth place in the school record books.
Senior Rachel Burts is third in the SAC and 30th in the country with her .370 hitting percentage and ranks 10th in the league with 46 total blocks on the year. The Anderson, S.C., native is 13th in the AU record books with 167 career blocks and needs 11 to surpass former standout Betsy Fisher (2000-04) for 12th place.
Junior Jayln Knight is 17th in the conference in digs per set, 21st in total digs, 24th in service aces, 27th in kills and 28th in kills per set. Senior Serena Jackson is third in the SAC with 49 block assists and stands fourth with 53 total blocks. She is 19th in the league with a .238 hitting percentage and has moved into 11th place in the AU record books with 181 career blocks and needs 41 total blocks to overtake Ashley Prince (2006-08) for 10th place.
Sophomore Kathryn Hughes has reached double-digit kills in three of the last five matches and five times on the season. She equaled her season and career-best with 15 kills in last Friday's impressive sweep of Tusculum at the Abney Center. Junior libero Emily Conard leads a balanced defensive effort and stands 12th in the SAC with 225 digs on the year, while ranking ninth in the conference with 4.33 digs per set.
The Bears
Lenoir-Rhyne (7-7, 4-5 SAC) has dropped five straight decisions after posting a season-high six-match win streak in September, with the last four losses coming as four-set decisions.
The Bears are an even 4-4 away from home and are coming off a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 27-25, 25-19) setback three days ago at Coker. Lenoir-Rhyne senior outside hitter Brooke Redmond and freshman outside hitter Taylor Prall both totaled a team-high 12 kills in the setback.
Lenoir-Rhyne was tabbed fifth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 12-18 overall record and a 10-12 mark in league play last year. The Bears captured their first-ever SAC Tournament Championship two seasons ago and advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional finals for the first time in school history.
Redmond and senior middle blocker Emily Steele earned All-SAC Preseason First-Team honors for the Bears after both players were second-team all-league picks last season. Steele led the team and was second in the league in 2016 with 109 blocks, along with 242 kills last season. Redmond led the squad with 282 kills in addition to 243 digs last fall. In 2015, Redmond was a First-Team All-SAC honoree and Most Valuable Player of the SAC Championship Tournament. That season, Redmond had 401 kills, 356 digs and 21 service aces.
The Series vs. Lenoir-Rhyne
The Trojans and Bears have met just 17 times over the past 18 seasons, with Lenoir-Rhyne holding a narrow 9-8 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 2000 campaign. The Bears won the first-ever 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 15 times as members of the SAC. Anderson has won six of the last eight matchups with the teams trading season sweeps each of the last three years – AU swept both meetings with the Bears during the 2014 season before falling twice to L-R in 2015. The Trojans edged Lenoir-Rhyne in five sets in Hickory last season before knocking off the Bears, 3-1, in Anderson.
Nine of the 17 contests between the two teams have gone the full five-set distance.
In the last matchup, Burts led all players with 16 kills, with Mitter adding a dozen kills and 13 digs. Hughes tallied 11 kills, while Conlin recorded eight kills, handed out 50 assists and came up with 15 digs. Conard posted a match-high 27 digs and handed out six assists.