INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Behind a balanced effort on both the offensive and defensive sides, the Anderson volleyball team closed out the Indianapolis tournament with a pair of wins, as the Trojans shut out Wayne State, 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 26-24), and rallied for a for a four-set, 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-16) win over Montevallo, Saturday at the Athletics and Recreation Center.
"We are happy to be coming home with three wins on the weekend against quality opponents," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "We learned a lot about our team and look forward to getting back to work on Monday to correct certain things after a day off on Sunday. It will be great to play in front of our fans this week in the Electric City Invitational."
Anderson improved to 3-1 on the young season by handing Wayne State its first loss of the season and earning its first win in program history over Montevallo.
Wayne State slipped to 2-1 with Saturday morning's loss to the Trojans, while Montevallo fell to 1-3.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Match #1
Anderson 3, Wayne State 0
(25-22, 25-13, 26-24)
Senior outside hitter Liliana Kinder shared match-high honors with 11 kills, while adding three digs and two block assists. Juniors Rylie Sargent and Tabitha Wheeler each posted eight kills apiece, with Sargent also chipping in three block assists and Wheeler coming up with six digs on the defensive side. Senior middle hitter Noelle Knutsen notched six kills and a pair of block assists, with junior Jaelyn Grimm recording five kills and five block assists.
Junior setter Jenna Long handed out a match-high, career-best 33 assists and posted two service aces to go along with six digs and a pair of block assists. Senior Alexandra Petrilli led the Trojans with 16 digs, with sophomore Hannah Neff and senior Lindsay McCurley adding nine digs and eight digs, respectively.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Match #2
Anderson 3, Montevallo 1
(15-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-16)
Kinder paced the Trojans with a dozen kills, while adding a solo block and two block assists, with Knutsen tallying 11 kills with just two errors in 27 attacks for a .333 hitting percentage. The Parker, Colo., native also knocked down a pair of solo blocks and had five block assists. Wheeler posted eight kills for the second straight match, while recording two service aces, 16 digs, two block assists and three block assists.
Roy dished out 29 assists and tallied eight digs to go along with five block assists. Petrilli recorded 20 digs and a pair of aces, while Grimm posted a career-high eight block assists. Neff finished with nine digs and McCurley was just shy of her career-high with four aces on the afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Match
First Set
Wheeler and Kinder led the offensive attack with five kills apiece in the opening set, with AU recording a .302 hitting percentage.
The first set featured 13 ties, with neither team able to build more than a four-point advantage. After building an early, 7-3, lead on Kinder's first kill of the day, the Trojans had to rally from a 16-13 deficit.
After a Wayne State error knotted the score at 16-16, the lead changed hands three times before Sargent gave the Trojans the lead for good (23-22) with her third kill of the set. Wheeler then knocked down back-to-back kills to clinch the three-point win.
Second Set
The Trojans opened an early 8-3 advantage and never looked back, as Sargent and Kinder led the way with seven combined kills.
AU's lead hovered between six and seven points and ballooned to double digits late in the frame.
Third Set
Wheeler, Knutsen and Kinder each posted three kills apiece to pace the Black and Gold in the final set.
With the score deadlocked at 9-9, a balanced effort propelled the Trojans out to a 19-12 edge and they survived a late rally by Wayne State that saw the Warriors reel off an 8-1 run and hold off match point four times before tying the score at 24-24. Following an AU timeout, Kinder knocked down a kill and McCurley clinched the match with her sixth ace of the young season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Second Match
First Set
The Trojans fell behind early and were unable to overcome Montevallo's blistering .457 hitting percentage in the opening frame.
After trailing, 8-3, AU trimmed the Falcons' lead to just two (10-8) but Montevallo countered with six unanswered points as part of a 9-2 run that boosted its advantage to 19-10 and the Trojans were unable to get any closer than seven the rest of the way.
Second Set
The second set was tied 11 times and featured six lead changes, with the Trojans capitalizing on a Montevallo error to finally take the lead for good, at 21-20. Wheeler followed with an ace and AU reached set point after Knutsen and Roy combined on a block and Kinder knocked down her fifth kill of the set.
Montevallo's Macy Martin followed with a kill, then Knutsen and Roy finished off the set with another block.
Third Set
Neither team posted a high hitting percentage, but the Trojans managed to overcome 12 attacking errors.
After the fourth tie – at six apiece – the Trojans pushed out to an 11-7 lead on an error by the Falcons and they held the advantage until Montevallo evened the score again at 13-13.
The score was tied again at 15 apiece, but AU never surrendered the lead, and with Wheeler and Petrilli serving, the Trojans closed out the set on a strong note.
Fourth Set
The Trojans struggled to get untracked early and fell behind, 9-3, but a kill from Kinder sparked a run of five straight points as part of a larger 8-2 outburst that was fueled by a pair of kills and a block assist from sophomore Brantley Chipley.
Still trailing, 12-11, the Trojans then rattled off a 7-2 surge that gave them the lead for good and they won the set going away.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
Grimm's eight block assists against Montevallo matched the third-highest total in program history, just two behind former standout Jessica Harris' 10 against Bellarmine in the Derby City in 2014.
NOTABLES
• With the six solo blocks and 26 block assists against the Falcons, the Trojans eclipsed the previous school record of 17, which was shared by the 2014 edition of AU volleyball (Bellarmine, 9/15/14) and the 2021 edition of Trojan volleyball (Queens, 3/22/21).
• The Trojans have recorded 21 service aces, while opponents have aced AU nine times.
• The Trojans have earned two shutouts in their first four contests.
• AU improved to 3-0 at a neutral site.
• AU and Wayne State were meeting for the first time in school history.
• Wayne State climbed as high as fifth in last season's AVCA Poll before finishing 18th with a 20-9 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Trojans squared off against Montevallo from the Gulf South Conference for just the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2010. The Falcons lead the overall series, 3-1.
UP NEXT
AU returns to the Upstate and will open the month of September by hosting a tournament for the first time since the 2012 season as part of a five-match homestand. First-year head coach Brenn Ferguson and Catawba will invade the Abney Center for a rare Thursday night matchup as part of the Electric City Invitational, with the contest marking the Trojans' home opener, as well as both squads' conference-opening contest. First-serve vs. the Indians is set for 7 p.m.