ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team is set for its fifth consecutive and eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament, as the No. 4-seeded Trojans are slated to square off against fifth-seeded Lander in the third match of the day on Friday, with first-serve between the Trojans and Bearcats set for 5 p.m.
Wingate is hosting the eight-team tournament, Nov. 18-20 at Cuddy Arena. The three-day event will begin Friday, Nov. 18, with the regional semifinals taking place on Saturday, Nov. 19. The regional title match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 20.
Ticket Information
Each Day Tickets
• Adults - $10
• Seniors (60+) and college students - $5
• Child (6-17) - $2
The Trojans
Anderson (21-7) enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed after becoming the 11th team in program history to post at least 21 victories in a single season and saw four players earn All-South Atlantic Conference honors at the conclusion of the regular season. The Trojans wrapped up the regular season with a third-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference's Piedmont Division and made their 11th consecutive trip and their 12th overall appearance in the conference tournament before falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Wingate.
In addition to the last five consecutive seasons, AU also earned berths in the 2008, 2013 and 2014 NCAA Southeast Region Championships and owns a 4-7 overall record in its seven previous appearances.
As the No. 2 seed and host last season, the Trojans advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 Region Championship by knocking off No. 7-seeded Mars Hill in four sets, before eventual tourney champion Augusta edged the Trojans with a five-set win at the Abney Athletic Center. The No. 6-seed Trojans fell to third-seeded Carson-Newman, 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-20) in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament at Wingate's Cuddy Arena.
As a No. 4 seed, AU swept Lander in the 2018 NCAA Regional Quarterfinals before falling in four sets to top seed and host Wingate at Cuddy Arena. As a four-seed in 2017, 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.
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.
The Black and Gold dropped their final regular two regular-season contests, but closed out the regular season by winning 11 of their final 14 decisions en route to capturing the No. 4 seed after earning a spot in the SAC Championship semifinals for the sixth straight season.
AU ranks second in the South Atlantic Conference in hitting percentage, kills per set, assists per set, blocks and blocks per set, while standing third in overall assists and third in overall kills. The Trojans are also fourth in aces and digs and seventh in digs per set.
Senior Noelle Knutsen, a three-time all-conference honoree, brought home First-Team All-SAC accolades following a regular season that saw the Parker, Colo., native lead the league with a .393 hitting percentage. She is currently fourth in the conference with a career-high 312 kills and has reached double-digit kills in 18 contests this season, including eight straight to close the regular season, while notching a season-high 20 kills in the Trojans' sweep of Texas A&M International in the Electric City Invitational.
Knutsen paces the league in solo blocks and is fourth in both kills per set (3.18/set) and blocks per set (1.02/set), while ranking third in points and points per set. The middle blocker was named SAC Defensive Player of the Week in mid-October and posted an impressive 16 matches with at least a .400 hitting accuracy, including a dozen at .500 or better. She has tallied at least four total blocks on 10 occasions this season, while reaching a season-best nine at UIndy in late August. Knutsen currently ranks fifth in the school record books with a .315 career hitting percentage and third with 355 total blocks.
Another senior, Madison Roy, was named Second-Team All-SAC and collected all-conference hardware for the third straight season. She ranked second in the league in assists per set (11.00/set) only to teammate Jenna Long.
The North Myrtle Beach native has recorded at least 40 assists on seven occasions this season, while reaching the 50+ assist plateau three times, including a season-best 63 assists in AU's five-set win over then 20th-ranked Wingate on Homecoming. She also posted a pair of double-doubles – against Limestone and Wingate – this season and ranks sixth in the school record books with 2,585 career assists and second in school history by dishing out 10.68 assists per set.
Jaelyn Grimm, who was named the SAC Defensive Player of the Week in late August, earned all-conference honors for the second straight year and finished the regular season by ranking fourth in the league with a career-high .381 hitting percentage. The Cedar Park, Texas, native currently ranks third in the conference with 1.03 blocks per set and fourth with a career-high 95 total blocks, with a season-high 13 in the late-season win over Wingate.
She knocked down double-figure kills four times, including two of AU's last three matches. Grimm also recorded at least four blocks on 13 occasions, including a career-best eight against Montevallo in the UIndy Invitational.
Outside hitter Liliana Kinder captured all-conference accolades for the second time of her career after finishing the regular season with a career-high 277 kills, which placed her sixth in the league. She is currently sixth in the SAC with 3.00 kills per set and is 23rd with her .250 hitting accuracy. Kinder ranks 10th and 11th, respectively, in the league in points and points per set after posting double-figure kills 15 times this season, including a season-high 21 at UIndy.
Junior Rylie Sargent, who earned a spot on the SAC All-Tournament Team, came alive over the last third of the season. The Greer native posted double-figure kills in seven of AU's last nine matches, including a career-high 22 in the Trojans' late-October upset of Wingate. Sargent led the Trojans with 24 kills (3.00/set) on the strength of a .225 hitting percentage during the conference tournament, while adding six digs.
Senior Alexandra Petrill currently leads the Trojans with 309 digs on the season and is second on the squad with 25 service aces. She has tallied double-digit digs on 20 occasions this year, including a season-best 20 against Montevallo in late August. Another senior, Lindsay McCurley, has registered 308 digs this year and ranks fourth in the SAC with 40 aces. The Simpsonville native has moved into 10th place all-time in AU's record books with 126 career aces. Sophomore Hannah Neff continues to be an all-around threat after notching 35 kills on the season. She also owns 18 service aces and is third on the squad with 236 digs.
NCAA Tournament Appearances
2022 - #4 Seed
2021 - #2 Anderson d. #7 Mars Hill / #6 Augusta d. Anderson
2020 - (Covid)
2019 - #3 Carson-Newman d. #6 Anderson
2018 - #4 Anderson d. #5 Lander / #1 Wingate d. Anderson
2017 - #4 Anderson d. Queens / #1 Flagler d. Anderson
2014 - #4 Augusta d. #5 Anderson
2013 - #5 Anderson d. #4 Tusculum / #1 Wingate d. Anderson
2008 - #1 Wingate d. #8 Anderson
#5 Lander
The Bearcats (20-9), were a preseason pick to finish fourth in the Peach Belt Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, after posting an 13-13 overall record last season and finishing fifth in the PBC with a 3-7 mark.
Lander finished as runners-up to Augusta in the regular season with an 11-4 mark in the six-team Peach Belt Conference. After winning five straight late in the season the Bearcats lost a five-set heartbreaker to eventual PBC Tournament Champion, Flagler, in the semifinals.
Friday night's match will mark Lander's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018. The Bearcats won 20 games for the first time since 2019 and finished just one game behind regular-season champion, Augusta. The Bearcats were the only squad in the Peach Belt to win the season series against each team in the conference.
Lander led the Peach Belt in aces per set (2.21), assists per set (11.80), hitting percentage (0.194), and kills per set (12.69). The Bearcats were second in the conference and 22nd in the country in total service aces with 233.
Head Coach Jeff Reynolds was named PBC Coach of the Year following the Bearcats' regular-season success, with Katie Miller being named Freshman of the Year and Patricia Pantoja earning Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year accolades. Madilyn Reed was also named Second Team All-PBC.
Miller was named First Team All-Conference after leading the conference in kills per set (3.96), points per set (4.50) and total kills (416). She finished the regular season with 16 double-doubles and was named PBC Player of the Week three times.
Pantoja also captured Second-Team ALL-PBC recognition after leading the league in digs per set with 5.28, ranking second in total digs with 539, and 12th in service aces with 35. Reed led the Peach Belt with 10.06 assists per set and in total assists with 1,016. She also was third in the conference with 41 service aces. Reed finished the regular season with 16 double-doubles and was named PBC Specialist of the Week seven times this fall.
The Series vs. the Bearcats
The Trojans wrapped up their nonconference slate by blanking Lander, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) in their only meeting during the regular season on Oct. 18.
Knutsen led all players with a dozen kills in that meeting, while adding a pair of solo blocks and a block assist, with Sargent tallying 11 kills and two block assists. Kinder posted eight kills, with Grimm adding six kills, three block assists and a solo block.
Junior Jenna Long handed out 41 assists and came up with five digs, with McCurley recording 18 digs and Petrilli chipping in 10 digs
The Trojans and Bearcats have met just 18 times over the past 25 years, with Lander holding a 10-8 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1998 campaign. From 2001-2010, the Bearcats won eight straight matchups with the Trojans.
Friday's matchup marks just the second meeting between the Trojans and Bearcats since the 2018 NCAA Southeast Regional and just the sixth matchup since the 2012 season. AU has won three straight meetings and five of the last six matchups dating back to the 2010 season.
2022 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament
at Wingate University (Cuddy Arena)
Friday, Nov. 18
Match 1: #3 Carson-Newman vs. #6 Flagler, Noon
Match 2: #2 Augusta vs. # 7 UNC Pembroke, 2:30 p.m.
Match 3: #4 Anderson vs. #5 Lander, 5 p.m.
Match 4: #1 Wingate vs. #8 USC Aiken, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 19
Match 5: winner match 1 vs. winner match 2, 5 p.m.
Match 6: winner match 3 vs. winner match 4, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 20
(Region Championship Match)
Match 7: winner match 5 vs. winner match 6, 3 p.m.
Tournament Central
https://wingatebulldogs.com/sports/2022/11/14/2022-volleyball-regionals.aspx
NCAA National Bracket (pdf)
NCAA National Bracket (online)
https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/volleyball-women/d2/2022
NCAA Digital Program (online)
https://www.ncaa.com/content/division-ii-women%E2%80%99s-volleyball-championship-guide
