ANDERSON, S.C. – After earning its fifth consecutive appearance in the South Atlantic Conference Championships a season ago and extending second-seeded Carson-Newman to five sets before falling in the opening round, the Anderson University volleyball team will play seven matches versus four teams that advanced to the NCAA postseason a year ago, as the Trojans announced their 2016 schedule on Tuesday.

Krieger expects 10 letterwinners, including a pair of All-South Atlantic Conference performers, in Serena Jackson and Marissa Mitter, to return in the fall. Jackson was second on the team and ranked 15th in the league with 284 kills, while ranking seventh in the league with a team-best .290 hitting percentage and standing 19th in the SAC with 59 total blocks. Mitter reached double-figure kills in seven of the final eight contests and knocked down a team-best 290 kills, which was good for 10th in the SAC, while leading the Trojans and ranking sixth in the SAC with 3.19 kills per set.

While the veteran roster features five sophomores and three juniors, the list of returners includes just a pair of seniors. Senior right side hitter Allison Gaminde has played in 57 matches over the past two seasons and was fifth on the squad with 123 kills and third on the team with 48 total blocks. Senior middle blocker Jessica Harris has started 62 matches in the last two campaigns and was third on the team with 221 kills a year ago, while leading the team and ranking 11th in the SAC with 80 total blocks.

Krieger will be looking to replace the departed Priscilla Irizarry, who earned Honorable Mention All-Conference accolades at the conclusion of last season after ranking fourth in the SAC in assists, fifth in assists per set (9.50) and 19th in the league with 311 digs.

The 29-match slate features 12 true road contests, six matchups at neutral sites and 11 matches in the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center. In addition to the grueling 22-match South Atlantic Conference slate, Anderson will square off against two opponents from the Conference Carolinas and a trio of Peach Belt Conference foes in the early going.

"With the early tournaments, we are looking for our six incoming freshmen to get some early experience at the collegiate level before the conference schedule really begins," said second-year head coach Gene Krieger. "We scheduled the early tournaments because I felt like the team needed a few more games. We will get eight matches in the early part of the season, which I'm hoping will get the players settled in before we get deep into the conference."

The Trojans open the campaign with a nine-match road swing, including a pair of tournaments that span from the western edge of Georgia to the east coast of the Palmetto State. Following three preseason scrimmages, Anderson will open the season by facing Clark Atlanta from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at the Columbus State Invitational on Sept. 2.

AU has squared off against SIAC foes (Benedict, Kentucky State and Claflin) on three previous occasions and has come away victorious each time. The matchup with the Panthers will mark the first meeting in program history, after CAU posted a 14-14 record a year ago while falling in the second round of the SIAC Tournament.

Less than 24 hours later, AU is scheduled to meet West Georgia from the Gulf South Conference for the first time since the 2003 campaign, and the Trojans are slated to wrap up the tourney on Sept. 3 against West Georgia and Armstrong State. The Wolves are looking for a turnaround following a 3-26 season in 2015, while the Lady Pirates advanced to their eighth consecutive NCAA Southeast Regional last season before falling to Carson-Newman and finishing with an 18-11 record.

Sandwiched between the two tournaments, AU opens its SAC slate on the road seeking its 12th consecutive win over Coker on Sept. 8 in Hartsville, S.C. in the first of three home matches for the Cobras. Coker wrapped up its 2015 campaign with an overall 4-24 mark and claimed its lone conference of the season on the road at Queens.

Marking their eighth match in the first nine days of the season, the Trojans head east for four contests at the Francis Marion Invitational on Sept. 9-10, when AU will square off against UNC Pembroke, the host Patriots, Emmanuel and Barton over the course of the two-day event. UNCP posted an 8-24 overall record a year ago, with Francis Marion nearly doubling its 2014 victory total with a 16-14 mark a year ago. In its final regular-season matchup a year ago, Emmanuel (16-14) spoiled Erskine's bid for a perfect Conference Carolinas' mark by handing the Flying Fleet its first league loss after 15 victories. The Lions were ineligible for the postseason while transitioning to NCAA Division II.

"A lot of teams look to get early matches and the tournaments fill up quickly," added Krieger. "We will see a good cross-section of teams from different regions and if we play well, it will also help the league's image."

AU concludes its non-conference slate early by squaring off against Barton, which posted a 15-13 record last season and a 9-7 mark in Conference Carolinas play a year ago, for the first time since the Trojans swept BC at the 2012 AU Invitational.

AU closes its longest road trip of the season by traveling to Newberry on Sept. 13, in the Wolves' home opener. Newberry wrapped up last season with a 12-15 overall mark, including an uncharacteristic 8-13 conference record and narrowly missed qualifying for the SAC Tournament.

"We are going to know what we're about in the first weekend of the [conference] season," said Krieger. "We open up against some of the teams that will return several starters. We will get tested right out of the gate."

The Trojans' home opener on Sept. 16 will provide a stiff challenge, as AU will face Carson-Newman and first-year head coach Dave Franklin in the first meeting since their dramatic five-set match-up in the quarterfinals of last year's conference tournament. The Eagles went on to notch a school-record 29 wins a year ago, while earning the program's first-ever NCAA Southeast Region title before falling to 11th-ranked Wayne State in the Elite Eight. The two squads have battled to a near stalemate, with Anderson claiming six of the last 11 matchups against the Eagles.

Lincoln Memorial invades the Abney Athletic Center a day later for the 19th meeting between the two programs. LMU holds a 13-5 advantage in the overall series after sweeping the Trojans last season, while AU defeated the Lady Railsplitters on three occasions during the 2014 campaign. LMU finished with a 16-14 record and tied for fourth place in the South Atlantic Conference last season.

Anderson opens a three-match conference road swing on Sept. 23 at Lenoir-Rhyne, then visits Brevard and wraps up the trip by traveling to perennial powerhouse Wingate on Sept. 27. The Bears, who will be led by a trio of All-Southeast Region Tournament selections (Brooke Redmond, Emily Steele and Brandi Thomas) fell to Carson-Newman in last season's Southeast Regional Championship but wrapped up the year with their second-most victories (25) in school history in addition to winning their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship.

Brevard, which will be in its final season as a member of the SAC, posted an overall 12-17 record last year and earned a school-record nine conference victories, while making an appearance in the SAC Tournament for the first time since 2009. Despite being separated by less than 70 miles, the Trojans and Tornados have met just 13 times, including 12 matchups as members of the South Atlantic Conference, with the Trojans holding a 10-2 advantage in the series.

Three days later, the Trojans will visit Wingate, looking for just their second win in school history past the Bulldogs and first since 1999, when the Trojans were in their first year as a member of NCAA Division II. Wingate is the 10-time defending SAC regular-season champion and had claimed nine consecutive conference tournament titles before falling to Lenoir-Rhyne in the 2015 championship tilt. The Bulldogs finished 28-5 last season after advancing to the NCAA Southeast Regional for the 11th straight year.

Anderson returns to the Electric City for matches against Tusculum (Sept. 30) and Mars Hill (Oct. 4) before closing out the first half of the league's double round-robin with a road swing through the Tar Heel State at Catawba (Oct. 7) and Queens (Oct. 8).

Led by First-Team All-Region performer Melisa Mazur, Tusculum finished last season with an 11-17 overall mark and tied Newberry for ninth place in the conference. Tusculum owns a 15-5 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1997 season. The Pioneers claimed the first-ever meeting in 1997, with the series lapsing for six years before the two squads met again, with AU taking the road victory.

Mars Hill wrapped up last season by surprising Carson-Newman on the Eagles' home court, while notching an 8-21 record on the year. The Lions claimed a narrow 10-9 edge in the overall series with AU on the strength of two wins over the Trojans last season. Catawba opens a three-match homestand by playing host to Anderson. The Trojans and Lady Indians have met just 12 times, all as members of the South Atlantic Conference, with AU holding an 8-4 advantage in the overall series, and has won seven of the last eight meetings.

Queens finished at 13-16 a season ago, while falling to Lenoir-Rhyne in the quarterfinals of the SAC Championships. The Trojans are 23-9 versus Queens over the past 18 seasons and have won 20 of the last 23 meetings. The two teams have met just six times since 2009, when both were members of Conference Carolinas, with Queens joining the SAC in 2013.

The Trojans begin the second half of the conference schedule with a three-match homestand – its longest of the season – by playing host to Wingate, Coker and Newberry in mid-October, before going on the road to visit Carson-Newman and Newberry. AU wraps up the month of October at home by welcoming Lenoir-Rhyne to the Abney Athletic Center and plays host to Brevard on Homecoming (Oct. 29). The Black and Gold's final conference road swing features trips to Tusculum (Nov. 4) and Mars Hill (Nov. 5), before they conclude the regular season by playing host to Catawba and Queens.

The 2016 South Atlantic Conference Championship will feature a departure from previous formats, with the top eight teams in the league squaring off on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the home sites of the four top seeds, with the tournament semifinals and championship slated to be held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19-20, at Wingate.

"I believe we have a strong group for the future. We have 10 returners from our 2015 squad and look to make a bigger impact in the conference this year," concluded Krieger.