ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team will close out three weeks of preseason workouts when the Trojans open the regular season with three matches at Georgia College's Bobcat Classic, Friday and Saturday at the Centennial Center.
This weekend's appearance in Middle Georgia marks the beginning of a seven-match season-opening road swing for AU, with the Black and Gold playing 10 of their first 11 contests on the road. There has not been a lot of recent history between the Trojans and their weekend opponents, as AU has squared off against Emmanuel, Lees-McRae and Georgia College just twice in the last seven seasons. The Trojans will be looking for their fourth straight victory on opening day and are 5-2 in their last seven season openers.
Anderson opens this weekend's event by facing Emmanuel, Friday at 5 p.m., then squares off against Lees-McRae, Saturday at 11 a.m. AU closes out the tournament with a 5 p.m. matchup versus the host Bobcats.
First-year Trojan head coach Todd Hay's roster features 12 returners, including every starter back from last season's 19-12 squad. The team's talent and experience was recognized earlier this week when it was tabbed to finish third in the Preseason South Atlantic Conference Coaches' Poll, with sophomore Emily Conlin and seniors Rachel Burts, Marissa Mitter and Serena Jackson each capturing all-conference accolades.
Conlin is back for her sophomore campaign after capturing SAC Freshman of the Year, while ranking second in the conference with 1,246 assists a year ago. The setter from Glendale, Ariz., led the league in assists per set and aces, while wrapping up the regular season with 10 consecutive double-doubles.
Burts, a presence in the middle, is also back for her second season with the Black and Gold after transferring from North Greenville prior to last year. The T.L. Hanna product made an impact in her first season in the league, ranking second on the squad with 269 kills and leading the league with 121 total blocks and 36 solo blocks.
Mitter, an outside hitter, is poised to move into the school's all-time top-10 for kills after knocking down a career-high 390 kills a season ago. She collected First-Team All-SAC and All-Southeast Region honors following last season and was one of only two players in the league to post more than 300 kills and 300 digs a year ago after ranking third in the conference in kills. She was second on the squad with 345 digs last year, while posting 20 double-doubles. Junior Jayln Knight, another outside hitter, started all 31 contests a season ago and was fourth on the team with 325 digs, including a season-high 23 at Queens in November and reached double-figure digs in 16 matches.
One of four seniors on the squad, Jackson was a Second-Team All-SAC selection as a sophomore and has played in 82 matches during her collegiate career and will likely move into the school's top-10 for blocks early in the season. The Charlotte, N.C., native has 540 career kills and 133 career blocks. Junior Emily Conard is expected to draw the starting nod at libero after seeing action in 60 matches during her first two seasons. She led the team and ranked sixth in the SAC with 589 digs last season, including a season-high 38 at Mars Hill in early November.
Emmanuel
The Lions, who were provisional members of Conference Carolinas while they were bidding to become full members of NCAA Division II, have been removed from the NCAA membership process, effective tomorrow.
Emmanuel notched a 9-16 record a year ago, while seeing their season end with a 3-1 loss to Lees-McRae.
The Series vs. Emmanuel
Friday afternoon's matchup marks just the second meeting in school history between the two programs after the Lions claimed a 3-1 win over AU at last year's Francis Marion Invitational.
Jackson led the Trojans offensively with 13 kills, while Mitter added eight kills and nine digs. Conlin recorded a double-double with 35 assists, 12 digs and five service aces in the loss, with Megan Embry tallying 11 digs.
Lees-McRae
The Bobcats, who posted an 11-18 overall record and went 7-9 in Conference Carolinas' action a season ago, were a preseason selection to finish eighth in Conference Carolinas this season. Lees-McRae, which lost to Erskine in the first round of the 2016 Conference Carolinas Tournament, is expected to return 12 letterwinners, including the Bobcats' team leaders in assists, digs and aces. Senior libero Madison Martin enters comes into her final season as a Bobcat second all-time in program history with 1,201 digs in her career and needs just 37 more digs to claim the most digs in school history.
The Series vs. Lees-McRae
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, with Mitter notching nine kills and six digs in the 3-0 victory.
Georgia College
The Bobcats posted a 17-14 overall record last season, marking GC's first winning season since the program's inception in 2013. The Bobcats dropped a 3-0 decision to eventual Southeast Region Champion USC Aiken in the opening round of the 2016 Peach Belt Conference Tournament.
The Series vs. Georgia College
Saturday afternoon's match will be the first meeting in school history between the two programs.
