ANDERSON, S.C. – The trio of Regan Duty, Hailee Wilhelm and Taylor Weber combined for 29 kills and a .270 hitting percentage to help lead the Anderson University volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-12, 20-25, 25-19, 25-8) South Atlantic Conference win over Coker, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson improved to 19-4 overall and 15-3 in the conference with its 17th win in 19 decisions, while Coker (6-17, 3-15 SAC) suffered its fourth consecutive loss and has dropped seven of its last eight outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Wilhelm, a senior from Columbus, Ohio, and Weber, a freshman from Charlotte, N.C., shared game-high honors with 10 kills apiece and each posted a pair of block assists. Duty, an Inman, S.C., native, added nine kills on the afternoon. Senior setter Emily Conlin handed out a match-high 28 assists, posted a pair of service assists and came up with five digs.
Freshman Lindsay McCurley recorded 12 digs and added a career-high six service aces. Junior Christina Stacy came up with eight digs, while sophomore Meghan DeVaux equaled a season-high with four aces and recorded six digs. Freshman defensive specialist Alexandra Petrilli chipped in three aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
With Weber and Wilhelm combining for nine kills and the Black and Gold posting a .379 hitting percentage, AU took an early lead and never trailed, but led by only two (9-7) early in the frame.
A kill by Wilhelm and back-to-back aces from McCurley sparked a 7-2 surge by the Trojans that gave them some breathing room and after the teams traded points, AU closed out the win by scoring the final eight points of the set.
Second Set
The Trojans notched three aces, but were unable to overcome seven attack errors and fell behind, 9-2, early in the frame. AU chipped away at the deficit and battled back within 11-8 on a ball-handling error by the Cobras, but could make little headway.
Coker pushed back out to an 18-10 advantage and the Trojans could get no closer than four after holding off set point twice in the final moments.
Third Set
With the score deadlocked eight times in the early going, Wilhelm snapped a 9-9 score with a kill that ignited a 9-3 run. Following a Coker timeout, DeVaux posted an ace that set the score at 19-12 and behind McCurley's serves, the Trojans reached set point and held a double-figure, 24-14, lead.
The Cobras countered with five straight points before committing a service error that sealed the AU victory.
Fourth Set
The Trojans held Coker to a -.136 hitting percentage in the final frame and steadily built a commanding 15-4 lead on a kill from Noelle Knutsen that forced a Coker timeout.
However, the break didn't slow the Trojan attack, as they continued with the pressure and claimed the set by going on a 10-4 scoring outburst that was fueled by two kills from Duty and a pair of aces by Conlin.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
Behind Lindsay McCurley's career-high six service aces, AU recorded 16 aces on the day - its second-highest tally of the season.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans improved to 9-1 in four-set matches.
• Lindsay McCurley has reached double-figure digs in 10 straight matches.
• Hailee Wilhelm is fifth in the conference with a .334 hitting percentage and has tallied double-digit kills in two straight matches.
• The Trojans are tied for second place in the league standings, alongside Queens. Both teams trail Wingate by two games with four games left in the regular season.
UP NEXT
Following a five-day break, the Trojans will wrap up their regular season home slate by playing host to Catawba and Queens, with Senior Night set for Friday night.