GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The sophomore duo of Sadie Kluner and Jaelyn Grimm combined for 23 kills and junior Madison Roy notched her fifth double-double of the season, but Tusculum defeated the Trojans (25-23, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action, Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.

Anderson slipped to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in league play, while Tusculum improved to 8-1 and 4-0 with its eighth straight win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Kluner posted a career-high 13 kills, with Grimm adding 10 kills and three block assists on the afternoon. Senior outside hitter Maya Learmonth tallied eight kills and six digs, while senior right-side hitter Regan Duty notched six kills, a pair of digs and a block assist.

Roy claimed her fifth double-double by handing out 35 assists and coming up with 10 digs. The North Myrtle Beach native also notched a pair of block assists. Senior Meghan DeVaux took team-high honors with 19 digs and added three service aces, with junior Alexandra Petrilli garnering eight digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Trojans posted a .308 hitting percentage, but the Pioneers were even hotter with a .317 attacking accuracy. Grimm knocked down five kills in the opening frame, with Duty adding three.

The opening frame set the tone for the close contest, featuring 12 ties and neither team was able to build more than a four-point lead.

The Trojans claimed their largest lead, at 5-2, on Grimm's first kill of the afternoon, with Tusculum later using a spurt of four unanswered points to gain some momentary separation. Trailing, 17-13, the Trojans rallied to knot the score at 18 apiece and eventually took a narrow one-point edge (23-22) on Grimm's fifth kill.

But following a Tusculum timeout, the Pioneers countered with the final three points of the set.

Second Set
The Trojans were unable to overcome 10 attack errors in the second set and hit just -.057 during the frame.

Despite the miscues, AU was even with the Pioneers at 10-10, before Roy gave the Black and Gold its final lead with her lone kill of the set. Tusculum then rattled off a 9-2 scoring run to take a 19-13 lead and built its advantage down the stretch.

Third Set
Behind Kluner's four kills and a solid defensive effort with a match-high 20 digs by the Trojans, AU bounced back to take a five-point win.

With the score deadlocked at six apiece, DeVaux posted a pair of aces that fueled a quick 4-0 surge by the Trojans and they held the lead until Tusculum climbed back to even the score for the seventh time, at 15-15. Roy, Grimm and Learmonth then fueled another breakout, but the Pioneers again answered to even the score at 20 apiece.

Following an Anderson timeout, the Trojans scored three straight to force a Pioneer timeout but the pause didn't slow AU, as they took advantage of a Tusculum error and Duty capped the win with a kill.

Fourth Set
Despite the Pioneers' red-hot .345 hitting percentage, AU stayed close during the final frame, with Learmonth and Kluner combining for seven kills.
The set featured 10 tie scores, with neither team building more than a two-point lead until Tusculum edged out to a late three-point advantage (22-19) and held off the Trojans down the stretch.

NOTABLES
• Tusculum owns a 17-13 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1997 season, with 11 of AU's victories coming since the 2013 campaign.
• AU is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings with the Pioneers.
• Kluner has reached double-digit kills in five matches this season.
• Roy has five double-doubles this season and has handed out at least 40 assists six times.
• Meghan DeVaux has tallied double-figure digs on seven occasions, including six straight.

UP NEXT
Anderson is slated to close out its season-opening, 11-match road swing at Newberry, Wednesday night. First-serve is set for 7 p.m.