HICKORY, N.C. – With four players reaching double-figure kills, the Anderson University volleyball team wrapped up its three-match South Atlantic Conference road swing with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 26-24) win over a determined Lenoir-Rhyne team, Tuesday night at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
"The team showed the heart of a champion tonight," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "It was definitely a team effort in the fourth set that drove that comeback. We are looking forward to being home for Senior Weekend."
Anderson (21-3, 15-1 SAC) maintained its hold on first place in the conference standings and extended its win streak to a school-record 16 matches by sweeping the regular-season series with the Bears. Lenoir-Rhyne slipped to 10-11 overall and 6-9 in league action with its second setback in three outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior outside hitter Marissa Mitter led all players with 17 kills and recorded her 11th double-double of the season by coming up with 13 digs. Senior middle blocker Serena Jackson and junior Jaylyn Knight each added 11 kills apiece, with Jackson tallying five blocks and Knight chipping in nine digs. Sophomore outside hitter Kathryn Hughes recorded 10 kills, five digs and three blocks, with senior Rachel Burts tallying eight kills and six total blocks on the night.
Sophomore setter Emily Conlin handed out a match-best 53 assists and posted her 13th double-double of the campaign with 16 digs. Junior Emily Conard shared match-high honors with 22 digs, while classmate Megan Embry added 11 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead, but the Trojans stayed within striking distance and trimmed the deficit to one on three occasions before eventually knotting the score for the second of six times, at 15-15.
The lead changed hands three times before Mitter's sixth kill of the set gave AU a lead it refused to surrender, at 20-19. An L-R error and a kill by Jackson boosted AU's edge to three and the Black and Gold turned away Lenoir-Rhyne's late challenge.
Second Set
The second frame was tied just once and the Trojans never trailed after striking early for a 5-1 lead. Lenoir-Rhyne battled back to even the score at 11 apiece, but AU responded by rebuilding a 16-12 advantage and crept out to a late seven-point lead twice, while hitting .406 as a team.
Third Set
The Trojans stumbled in the third frame, as Lenoir-Rhyne snapped an early 7-7 deadlock with three straight points and even though the Trojans rallied to knot the score two more times, they were unable to wrestle the lead away from the Bears.
Trailing by three, at 10-7, Hay called a timeout and the Trojans responded with three unanswered points out of the break and evened the score at 10-10 on a solo block by Mitter.
After the two teams traded points, the Bears rattled off four consecutive points to gain an advantage they would not relinquish, at 15-11. The Trojans climbed within three on two occasions, but were unable to get any closer as L-R claimed their largest lead of the set, at 24-17. AU held off set point three times, but the deficit proved too large to overcome.
Fourth Set
The final frame was deadlocked six times – twice early, twice midway through the set and twice in the final moments. An early scoring spurt fueled by Burts, who posted a solo block and back-to-back kills, gave the Trojans a 5-2 lead.
After Jackson's second kill of the frame boosted AU's lead to 11-7, the Bears posted a 10-1 scoring outburst to claim a 17-12 advantage. A timeout didn't slow the Bears, as they built a seven-point, 21-14, cushion. But the Trojans countered with a 9-2 rally to even the score for the fifth time, at 23 apiece. Knight sparked the comeback with a kill, and after Mitter and Burts combined for a block, the Redlands, Calif., native posted an ace. Conlin added an ace and Mitter recorded two more kills – the second knotting the score at 23-23.
The Bears reached set point on an AU error, but Jackson knocked down a kill, then combined with Knight for a block and Knight capped the win with her fourth kill of the set.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans' 12 blocks on the night marked their second-highest tally of the season and their first double-figure night since posting 10 blocks at Queens in mid-September.
NOTES
• The Trojans are 5-1 in four-set matches this season.
• AU defeated Lenoir-Rhyne for the eighth time in 10 meetings.
UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the court quickly, as the Trojans are slated to wrap up their nonconference schedule by playing host to Livingstone, Wednesday night. First-serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Abney Athletic Center.
