ANDERSON, S.C. – After earning its sixth consecutive appearance in the South Atlantic Conference Championships last season, the Anderson University volleyball team will play eight matches against five teams that advanced to the NCAA postseason a year ago, as the Trojans announced their 2017 schedule on Wednesday.
First-year Anderson head coach Todd Hay's inaugural slate with the Black and Gold will feature 29 contests, including 13 true road matches, five contests at neutral sites and 11 matches in the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center. In addition to the grueling 20-match South Atlantic Conference slate, Anderson's non-conference schedule is evenly split with four matchups each against opponents from the Conference Carolinas and the Peach Belt Conference, along with one opponent from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
The Trojans open the campaign with a seven-match road swing, including back-to-back tournaments in the Peach State and the Palmetto State. Following a pair of preseason scrimmage dates in late August, Anderson will open the season on Sept. 1 by squaring off against Emmanuel in just the second meeting between the two programs at the Georgia College Tournament in Milledgeville. The Trojans will be looking to avenge a 3-1 setback to the Lions suffered on the second day of the Francis Marion Tournament last season.
A day later the Trojans will face Lees-McRae, which lost to Erskine in the first round of the 2016 Conference Carolinas Tournament, but is expected to return 12 letterwinners, including the Bobcats' team leaders in assists, digs and service aces. The contest will be just the second meeting between the Bobcats and Trojans since the 2009 season, when both were members of Conference Carolinas. AU swept Lees-McRae at USC Aiken early in the 2014 campaign in their last meeting. The Trojans will wrap up their visit by playing the host Bobcats for the first time in school history. The Bobcats posted a 17-14 overall record in 2016, marking GC's first winning season since the program's inception in 2013.
Following a five-day layoff, AU will open the USC Aiken Invitational by matching up against Lander for the first time since edging the Bearcats in five sets early in the 2012 season. Lander is coming its third straight 20+ win season and has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Southeast Regional after going 21-12 last season. Next up for the Trojans in Aiken will be Augusta and Mount Olive, with the Black and Gold closing out the two-day tournament by facing the defending regional champion and host Pacers. USCA went 31-5 and advanced to the NCAA's Elite Eight before falling to second-seeded Palm Beach last season.
"The two preseason tournaments will be an early indication as to how we stack up in the region against nonconference teams," said Hay. "We will be able to compete against four of the seven Peach Belt teams, including the defending regional champion, as well as three teams from Conference Carolinas. These preseason tournaments on the road are also a time to begin to bond as a team before the conference schedule kicks in."
"While it is true that we play 10-of-11 on the road to start the season, seven of those will be at the two preseason tournaments," noted Hay. "We have a very experienced team that by now should understand what it takes to be successful on the road. Fortunately, this stretch is early on in the season and we should be fresh and ready to go. Some of the best experiences they have as a college athlete are on road trips with their teammates."
Anderson opens its home slate by playing host to South Atlantic Conference nemesis Lenoir-Rhyne at the Abney Athletic Center on Sept. 12. The Trojans and Bears have met just 17 times over the past 18 seasons, with Lenoir-Rhyne holding a 9-8 edge in the overall series that dates back to the 2000 campaign. The Bears won the first matchup, then the series saw a seven-year lapse before L-R edged Anderson during the 2008 season. The two squads have met 15 times as members of the SAC, with AU winning six of the last eight matchups with Lenoir-Rhyne. Ten of the 17 contests between the two teams have gone the full five-set distance.
"The SAC schedule is always very tough due to the parity in the league," added Hay. "The top five teams in 2016 were only separated by three matches at the end of the regular season. We are dropping to only 20 conference matches but I see that as a positive. It allows us a couple more days off and spreads out the matches a bit better. This will benefit us in our recovery time and an extra day off every now and then."
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Trojans, who will then go on the road to face perennial regional powerhouse Wingate (Sept. 15) and Queens (Sept. 16) in a two-day span. AU claimed just its second win in school history over the Bulldogs, and the first since 1999, last October. Wingate is the 11-time defending SAC regular-season champion and has claimed 10 conference tournament titles in the last 11 seasons, with the lone setback coming at the hands of Lenoir-Rhyne in the 2015 championship tilt at the Abney Athletic Center. The Bulldogs finished 29-6 last season after advancing to the NCAA Southeast Regional for the 12th straight year.
Queens posted 22 victories en route to knocking off Wingate in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16. The Trojans close out the three-match road swing at arch-rival Erskine on Sept. 19.
Anderson returns home to host Hay's former squad, Newberry (Sept. 22) and Coker on Sept. 23 before going back on the road for their second three-match road swing in two weeks. The Trojans visit Catawba on Sept. 26 and close the month of September at Carson-Newman (Sept. 29) and Lincoln Memorial (Sept. 30). The Eagles are just a season removed from posting a school-record 29 wins and the program's first-ever NCAA Southeast Region title in 2015. The Lady Railsplitters notched a school-record 25 overall victories last season, while earning a program-best 17 conference wins on their way to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.
Tusculum invades the Abney Center on Oct. 6, with the Trojans wrapping up the first half of the league's double round-robin slate by playing host to Mars Hill a day later.
The Trojans begin the second half of the conference schedule with a brief one-match road swing at Lenoir-Rhyne before returning to the Electric City for its longest homestand of the season – Catawba (Oct. 14), Queens (Oct. 17) and Wingate on the Friday of Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 20). AU visits Newberry (Oct. 27) and Coker (Nov. 5), before opening a three-match homestand by wrapping up its nonconference slate with Livingstone (Nov. 1), then resuming SAC action with Carson-Newman on Senior Night (Nov. 3) and LMU on Nov. 4.
"One of the goals of every team is to make the conference tournament," said Hay. "When the format was changed last year and the top for seeds get to host the quarterfinals, I feel like it kicked things up a notch. You are fighting for a conference title, but now you are also fighting to be at home in round one. It adds more drama to the regular season and gives teams that little extra incentive to play their best. Every team wants to host a playoff match."
"The team told me that they felt like they had a chance to win a conference title, whether that be regular season or tournament or both," added Hay. "I believe they are right to think that way. We also want to make the NCAA regionals and compete for the regional crown. If we stay healthy and the team comes together in all aspects, I believe these goals are attainable."
The Black and Gold conclude the regular season with a visit to Tusculum on Nov. 10. The 2017 South Atlantic Conference Championship will feature the top eight teams in the league squaring off on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the home sites of the four top seeds, with the tournament semifinals and championship slated to be held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 17-18, at Carson-Newman.
"We are looking forward to continuing the rivalry with Erskine as we compete for the Beville Cup and we were glad we could add Livingstone on Senior Week and give our seniors and their families one more home match," concluded Hay. "We will be excited to see our fans come out and support our team this fall. It should be a fun and exciting season."
