ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team is set for its third straight and sixth overall appearance in the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament, as the Trojans are slated to open the three-day event against third-seeded Carson-Newman on Thursday.
The regional is being hosted at Wingate's Cuddy Arena, with first-serve between the Trojans and Eagles set for noon.
Ticket prices per day
Adults - $8
Students - $3
Children - $2
The Trojans
Anderson (22-7) enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed after becoming the eighth team in program history to post at least 22 victories in a single season and saw an unparalleled six players earn All-South Atlantic Conference honors at the conclusion of the regular season.
Thursday's contest will mark the sixth overall appearance by Anderson in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship, and the Trojans' third in as many seasons.
AU swept Lander in last year's NCAA quarterfinals before falling in four sets to top seed and host Wingate at Cuddy Arena. As a four-seed two years ago, the Trojans blanked fifth-seeded Queens in the quarterfinals and nearly advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history before falling in five sets to top-seeded and eventual regional champion Flagler.
In addition to the last two seasons, AU also earned berths in the 2008, 2013 and 2014 NCAA Southeast Region Championships and owns a 3-5 overall record in its five previous appearances.
The Trojans earned their first-ever bid after winning the 2008 Conference Carolinas Tournament and were swept by Wingate in the region quarterfinals. AU received an at-large bid to the 2013 regional and the No. 5 seeded Trojans promptly upset fourth-seeded Tusculum in the quarterfinals for AU's first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament. Top-seeded Wingate ended AU's run in the second round. The Trojans entered the 2014 Southeast Regional as the No. 5 seed and dropped a five-set decision to Augusta in the opening round.
Behind their six All-SAC selections, the Trojans lead the SAC in assists and rank in the top third of the league second in kills, hitting percentage, assists per set, service aces, aces per set and points. AU is 11th in the nation in aces per set, 13th in team service aces and 75th in assists per set.
Senior setter Emily Conlin was named First-Team All-South Atlantic Conference for the third straight season and was named the league's Player of the Year after capturing SAC Specialist of the Week recognition on five occasions during the regular season. The Glendale, Ariz., native is the only player in the SAC and one of only three players in the southeast region with more than 1,100 assists and 300 digs and leads the conference in assists and assists per set, while also ranking 30th in the nation in assists per set. Conlin also stands 11th in the SAC with 38 aces, 12th in the SAC in digs and 18th in digs per set. She also earned a spot on the 2019 SAC All-Tournament Team.
The two-time All-American has started every match this season, while posting 19 double-doubles and has dished out double-figure assists in every contest this season. Conlin has reached 40+ assists on 15 occasions, including a season-high 54 twice and earlier this season she took over the top spot in the AU record books with 4,990 career assists.
Hailee Wilhelm, a middle hitter from Columbus, Ohio, garnered Second-Team All-SAC honors at the conclusion of the regular season. She currently ranks second on the team and 16th in the league with 262 kills on the season. Wilhelm is third in the SAC and 61st in the nation with her .334 hitting percentage and has knocked down double-figure kills in 13 contests, including three straight and eight of the last 12 matches. Wilhelm is currently 14th in the school record books with 120 career block assists.
Junior Regan Duty earned Honorable Mention All-SAC accolades for the second consecutive season and is third on the squad in both kills (234) and total blocks (58), while posting double-figure kills in 10 matches, Including a stretch of four straight contests in late October.
Joining Duty among Honorable Mention honorees were sophomores Maya Learmonth and Noelle Knutsen. Learmonth earned the honor after posting double-digit kills in 13 regular-season matches and leads the Trojans, while ranking 15th in the league with a career-high 263 kills. Knutsen garnered the postseason recognition following a stellar regular season and the Parker, Colo., native ranks seventh in the conference in hitting percentage (.324) and stands 13th in the conference with a team-best 78 total blocks.
Lindsay McCurley is 56th in the country with 45 service aces on the season and was tabbed for the SAC All-Freshman Team. The Simpsonville, S.C., native, currently ranks 10th in the SAC and leads the Trojans with 406 digs. Her 3.66 digs per set is 14th in the league.
#3 Carson-Newman
The Eagles (25-7) finished fourth behind the Trojans in the South Atlantic Conference regular season standings, but caught fire late and won 10 of its last 11 decisions and will enter the tournament as arguably the hottest team in the region after winning the SAC Tournament Championship and capturing the third seed.
Senior Marnie Streeter landed a spot on the First-Team All-SAC squad, while teammates Morgan Ballard and Erin Edwards collected second-team recognition. Streeter was an All-Freshman team pick in 2016 and earned second-team accolades as a sophomore. She enters the tourney ranking seventh in the league in kills per set with 2.91 while standing fourth in total kills at 329.
Ballard leads the league in digs per set with 6.09 and total digs with 688. She recorded a then season-high 36 digs twice this season - both in matches against Anderson – before posting 40 digs in the Eagles' win over Queens in the SAC Tournament Championship. Edwards averages 2.72 kills per set, which is good for 12th in the league while hitting .307. She is tied for sixth in the conference with 310 total kills.
Ballard and teammate Megan Oldenburger were named to the SAC All-Tournament Team, while Edwards was named Tournament MVP.
The Series vs. the Eagles
The Trojans and Eagles have met 26 times over the past 14 seasons, with 23 of the matchups occurring since AU joined the league in 2010. The overall series, which began in 2006, is deadlocked at 13 victories apiece. AU swept this season's regular-season matchups with each contest going the full five-set distance.
The Trojans outlasted the Eagles, 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10) in September at the Abney Athletic Center and rallied from a two-set deficit to claim a 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-10) comeback win at Carson-Newman's Holt Fieldhouse in late October.
In the two regular-season matchups, Learmonth led a balanced attack by knocking down 27 kills (2.70/set) and came up with 17 digs, while Duty tallied 18 kills. Wilhelm and freshman Taylor Weber combined for 32 kills and nine blocks in the two contests, with Kaitlyn Grube and Hannah Worsham notching 22 total kills.
Conlin paced AU with 94 assists (9.40/set) and recorded 49 digs, with McCurley adding 37 digs and Christina Stacy coming up with 34 digs.
2019 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament
at Wingate University (Cuddy Arena)
Thursday, Dec. 5
Game 1: #3 Carson-Newman vs. #6 Anderson, Noon
Game 2: #2 Queens vs. # 7 Flagler, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: #4 Augusta vs. #5 USC Aiken, 5 p.m.
Game 4: #1 Wingate vs. #8 Emmanuel, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 6
Game 5: winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 5 p.m.
Game 6: winner game 3 vs. winner game 4, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7
(Region Championship Match)
Game 7: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6, 5 p.m.
COMPLETE NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
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