ANDERSON, S.C. – With a pair of exhibition outings behind them, the Anderson volleyball team is set to open the regular season with four matches this weekend in the Hoosier State.
This is Part Two of a two-part series previewing the 2022 Anderson University volleyball season. Part Two includes a look at the Trojans' middle hitters, libero/defensive specialists and the schedule.
LIBERO/ DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
One of the six seniors on the roster, Lindsay McCurley, has seen action in 73 matches over the past three seasons. She was second on the team with 302 digs a year ago, while reaching double-figure digs on 15 occasions last season, including a season-high 23 in the four-set win over Queens in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals.
The Simpsonville native will miss squaring off against the Royals after also notching her career high against the Royals with 28 digs during the 2019 campaign. She reached double-figure digs in five of AU's last seven matches and notched 26 service aces on the season, including a season-best five against Tusculum in early November.
Another veteran, Alexandra Petrilli, was fifth on the squad with 218 digs and came up with a season-high 21 in the season-opener against East Central Oklahoma State. She notched double-digit digs in nine matches, including three of the last five matches of the season.
"Of all the players on the team those two and Noelle (Knutsen) have the most matches under their belt as Trojans so it will be it'll be very imperative that that those two bring that experience and leadership to the court," said Hay. "We're expecting big things from them. They've been here, done that and they've been through the battles and they know what to expect. I do like the leadership that those two have shown so far."
Another senior, Megan Harding, who saw action in three matches a season ago, adds depth and experience on the defensive side.
"Megan doesn't have a lot of on-court experience, but she has long experience on the team and it's been fun to watch her as a senior guide the younger players and lead the young players," said Hay. "She has good experience about being in the program and what to expect."
A pair of true freshmen, Katy Smith and Madison Burns, will be expected to reinforce the Trojans' defensive efforts. Smith was a member of a national championship team during her club career with the Jacksonville Juniors Volleyball Club. Burns captured All-Region honors and like Kaitlyn Barrett and Hannah Beville, competed for FCA Upstate Volleyball. Burns was a five-year letterwinner as the starting libero at Mauldin High School.
"From what I've seen from them so far in preseason, Madison and Katy should add some really good depth to that position," added Hay. "Katy is very, very quick and has good ball control. Digging is one of her strengths – she gets to the spot a lot and makes good plays. Madison has really strong instincts - she's in the right spot a lot. Her platform is good and she's a good passer. We're excited about those two."
MIDDLE HITTERS
Another spot that lacks depth but features a lot of experience is in the middle for the Trojans.
Senior Noelle Knutsen, one of the league's preeminent middle hitters, was named Preseason First-Team All-SAC last week. The Parker, Colo., native already ranks eighth in the school record books with 255 career blocks. She collected all-conference recognition for the second time of her stellar career last season after leading the team and ranking ninth in the league with a career-high 287 kills. Knutsen posted eight matches with at least a .400 hitting accuracy last season and finished third in the league with a career-best .315 hitting percentage.
She recorded double-digit kills in 13 matches, including a career-best 24 kills against Lincoln Memorial in mid-October. Knutsen recorded at least five total blocks on six occasions and notched nine block assists against Augusta in the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament Semifinals.
One of the most accurate hitters in the league, Jaelyn Grimm captured Preseason Second-Team All-SAC honors last week after being named Third-Team All-South Atlantic Conference at the conclusion of last season. Grimm was second in the league with a .318 hitting percentage and was 20th in the SAC with 225 kills a year ago. She posted a season-high .588 attacking percentage (10/0/17) against Texas A&M Kingsville with 10 kills and no errors in 17 attacks. The versatile sophomore ranked 19th on the conference with 64 total blocks, while knocking down double-figure kills 11 times, including a season-high 17 kills against Lincoln Memorial.
"Jaelyn's goal is to lead the league in hitting percentage," said Hay. "I think at one point last season she was number one in the conference in in hitting percentage and I feel like she can definitely do that again."
Another sophomore, Brantley Chipley, redshirted last season after starring at Dorman High School, where she was a tree-year letterwinner with the Cavaliers. She finished her career as the school's all-time blocks leader and earned all-region accolades.
"Brantley redshirted last year and a lot of people did not get to see her play," said Hay. Even though she (Brantley) is currently our third middle this season, she will be a very good middle and will see playing time this season. She will step in and there will be a difference in style but not so much a difference in results. They're all different, but she's efficient and effective. I think our team would say Brantley is probably our best blocker. She might not get as many kills as Jaelyn or Noelle but she'll get as many if not more blocks than they do. She's quick, she wants it and she works hard. And I say this as a positive - she (Brantley) is by far our most improved player from last year, no questions asked, so we're really excited about her going forward.
We are expecting great things from them," added Hay. "I know they're ready and I know they're hungry to play. They feel like they have some unfinished unfinished business from last year. Coming into the season, the middle is the one I have the least questions about. I know - and the team knows - what we're going get out of the middle. We know we know we have in the middle."
Hay wrapped up the conversation with a supposition, "the scary thing about experience that has tasted success is do they have that what it takes to get to that next level? Because they've already been pretty good, do they have that understanding of 'what we did last year was good but it's not good enough this year to do any better than what we did last year.' I feel like they do."
"Just because we have all the same players mostly back does that mean that it's just going to automatically be better," he asked. "It's a challenge to win two championships in a row so that's what I will be challenging the team with is - what we did last year was good but if we repeat last year we will be no better than last year. This team has told me they want to be better."
SCHEDULE
"I'm looking forward to the challenge," said Hay. "Our schedule is solid. It's a pretty challenging task, because opening weekend in Indianapolis going to be tough. All the teams there are solid teams – they all had winning records last year. It'll be a tough task but it'll be it'll be a lot of fun to go to the middle of the country and play some really good teams."
The Trojans will begin their search for their sixth appearance in the last eight NCAA Tournaments when AU opens the campaign on the road for the 10th time in 11 seasons by squaring off against McKendree and the host Greyhounds, Friday, at the UIndy Invitational.
The Trojans will meet Wayne State on Saturday and will wrap up their visit to the Hoosier State by squaring off against Montevallo from the Gulf South Conference.
The 26-game regular-season schedule is evenly balanced and features 10 true road games, three neutral-site contests and 13 matches in the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center.
The South Atlantic Conference slate will again feature 18 league matches, and with the conference splitting into divisions, the Trojans will play their Mountain Division opponents once and will square off against their Piedmont Division rivals twice – with the exception of travel partner Newberry – who will meet AU on three occasions.
AU is slated to open the month of September by hosting a tournament for the first time since the 2012 season as part of a five-match homestand. Catawba and first-year head coach Brenn Ferguson will invade the Abney Center for a rare Thursday night matchup as part of the Electric City Invitational.
The Trojans wrap up the homestand by returning to conference action and welcoming Newberry to Annie Tribble Court on Sept. 6 for the first of three regular-season meetings between AU and the Wolves.
AU then goes back on the road for a two-match road swing at Wingate (Sept. 9) and its seventh game in 10 days at Coker (Sept. 10) and returns home on Sept. 14 to face Lenoir-Rhyne, Following a five-day layoff, the Trojans will play host to Newberry (Sept. 20) for the second time in two weeks.
The following weekend, the Trojans head out on their most challenging conference road swing of the campaign, when they visit Lincoln Memorial (Sept. 23) and Carson-Newman (Sept. 24).
The Trojans' schedule then features just two matches over the next 11 days, with third-year conference-member Limestone visiting the Upstate on Sep. 30 and AU traveling to Newberry on Tuesday, Oct. 4. The Trojans then welcome a pair of western Virginia teams to the Abney Center, as first-year league member Emory & Henry, along with fourth-year SAC-member UVA Wise visit the Electric City, Oct. 7-8.
Another challenging road swing awaits the Trojans, as four of their last six conference matches will be on the road. They visit Mars Hill on Oct. 11 and Tusculum (Oct. 14). The Trojans step out of conference action by playing host to Lander in a midweek matchup on Oct. 18 before traveling to Catawba three days later.
AU wraps up the regular season with a visit to Catawba (Oct. 21) before playing three matches in six days, with Wingate opening Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 28 and Coker at the Abney Center a day later. The Trojans close out the regular season at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
The 2022 South Atlantic Conference Championship will feature the top eight teams in the league (four from each division) squaring off on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at the home sites of the four top seeds, with the tournament semifinals and championship slated to be held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12, at the Rock Hill (S.C.) Sport and Events Center for the second consecutive year.
"The other thing that makes the schedule just a touch more challenging is when you look at how the schedule fell, the teams with the higher finish last year on the other side of the conference (division) - with play them all on the road this season, added Hay. "We get them all at their place - that's just how the schedule fell. That's a little tougher than I would like it to be, but that's 's just the challenge of it."
