ANDERSON, S.C. – On the heels of a successful homestand that saw the Anderson University volleyball team win all six contests at the Abney Athletic Center, the Trojans will be looking to replicate that success as they open a three-match South Atlantic Conference road swing at Newberry, Friday night at Eleazer Arena.
First-serve versus the Wolves is slated for 7 p.m., Friday, while the Trojans will square off against Coker, Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
The Trojans
Anderson (18-3, 12-1 SAC) enters the weekend matchups riding a school-record 13-match win streak after upsetting 21st-ranked and previously unbeaten Wingate in four sets last Friday night.
The Trojans are alone in first place in the league standings, ½ game in front of Wingate, which suffered their second straight loss – to Queens – two nights ago in Charlotte. Anderson is 2 ½ games in front of the third-place Royals with seven contests left on the Trojans' conference schedule.
AU ranks 11th in the nation by dishing out 13.47 assists per set and is 12th in the country by holding opponents to a .114 hitting percentage. The Trojans are also among the nation's elite (22nd) by averaging 14 kills per set and rank 26th in hitting percentage (.241).
AU head coach Todd Hay spent five seasons roaming the Newberry sidelines, posting an 84-72 mark with the Wolves and leading the Scarlet and Grey to four appearances in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament and a pair of appearances in the NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament.
AU assistant coach Rachel Moran, a former standout with the Wolves, helped lead Newberry to three South Atlantic Conference Tournament appearances and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2012 and 2013. Moran wrapped up her collegiate career with nearly 500 digs, 110 kills, a dozen double-doubles and notched 67 service aces during her final two seasons.
On Tuesday, sophomore setter Emily Conlin was named SAC Specialist of the Week for the first time this season and the third time in her career, while senior outside hitter Marissa Mitter earned Player of the Week honors for the second time this month.
Conlin has consistently ranked either first or second in the league in assists and assists per set through the first seven weeks of the season and nearly captured her 11th double-double of the season in the sweep of Queens. She leads the SAC and is sixth in the nation in assists per set (11.87/set) and also paces the conference in service aces and aces per set. The Glendale, Ariz., native has dished out 40+ assists on 10 occasions, while reaching the 50+ assist plateau three times.
Mitter notched her ninth double-double of the campaign behind 10 kills and 11 digs in the midweek win over Queens and led all players with 19 kills in the upset of the Bulldogs. She has reached double-figure kills 17 times this season and ranks in the top three in the SAC in kills, kills per set, points and points per set. Mitter has posted 1,080 career kills and stands ninth in the school record books.
Senior Rachel Burts is second in the league and 17th in the country with a .383 hitting percentage and is 13th in the SAC in total blocks and 15th in kills per set. Junior Jayln Knight has been an all-around performer this season and ranks second on the team in digs, third in kills, fourth in service aces and points and fifth in blocks, while standing 18th in the conference in digs, 19th in digs per set, 22nd in kills per set and 24th in kills.
Senior Serena Jackson has added 140 kills to a balanced offensive attack and is third on the team with a .256 hitting percentage. Defensively, the veteran middle blocker leads the team and ranks sixth in the SAC in block assists and eighth in total blocks, while helping lead the defense to the 12th-place national ranking. Sophomore Kathryn Hughes has averaged 10 kills per match over her last eight contests on the strength of a .305 hitting percentage, while junior libero Emily Conard paces the Trojans and is eighth in the league with more than four digs per set. Classmate Megan Embry has averaged nearly seven digs per contest over the last eight matches.
The Wolves
Newberry (8-14, 4-11 SAC) has dropped six straight decisions after capturing back-to-back wins over Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba in early October.
The Wolves were picked to finish sixth in the Preseason SAC Coaches' Poll after finishing last season with a 20-12 overall record and a 16-6 mark in league action. The 20 wins were Newberry's most overall victories since joining the NCAA.
The Series vs. Newberry
The Trojans will be seeking their ninth win in the last 10 meetings with Newberry after blanking the Wolves, 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-10) earlier this season at the Abney Athletic Center. The two squads split last season's matchups, as each team won on the other's home court. After AU knocked off the Wolves, 3-1, at Eleazer Arena last season, Newberry prevented the fourth consecutive series sweep by shutting out the Trojans, 3-0, at the Abney Center.
The Trojans and Wolves have met 23 times over the past 20 seasons, with AU holding a 15-8 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1999 campaign. The two squads met just once between 2005 and 2009, with 12 of the 23 overall matchups coming since the Trojans joined the SAC in 2010. AU claimed the first three league meetings, with Newberry then winning three straight before Anderson swept the 2013, 2014 and 2015 regular-season series.
Mitter led all players with nine kills and added five digs in the September meeting, with Burts and Jackson each tallying eight kills apiece and combining for nine block assists on the night. The duo also combined for just two attack errors. Knight notched six kills and 13 digs, with Hughes recording five kills in eight attempts for a .625 hitting percentage. Conlin dished out 31 assists, while Conard posted a match-best 15 digs.
The Cobras
Coker (11-13, 5-10 SAC) is 6-3 at home this season and snapped a three-game skid by knocking off Newberry in four sets last Tuesday night.
The Cobras were predicted to finish 11th in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll following a season that saw them finish with a 13-17 overall record and a 5-17 mark in conference play last year.
Coker returned 11 letterwinners from last season, including senior outside hitter Madison Bingle, who led the team with 217 kills a year ago. Junior Kara Overholt led the Cobras with 556 digs a year ago and holds the all-time match record with 38 digs.
The Series vs. Coker
The Trojans own a 28-7 record versus the Cobras over the past 19 seasons and have won 17 of the last 20 meetings, including 15 straight.
In the last meeting, a 3-0 win in the Electric City, Mitter had a match-best 14 kills and added 16 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and posted four service aces, with Burts recording eight kills and a pair of block assists. Jackson notched seven kills and also had two block assists. Conlin dished out 31 assists and came up with 13 digs, while Conard tallied nine digs. Knight and Embry each posted eight digs.