ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team is set for its home opener, as the Trojans welcome Lenoir-Rhyne to the Abney Athletic Center in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams, Tuesday night.
First-serve versus Lenoir-Rhyne is slated for 7 p.m.
Admission to each volleyball match is $5, but students, faculty and staff, along with members of the Trojan Club will be admitted free of charge.
The Trojans
Anderson is 6-1 in season openers over the past seven seasons and is 5-2 in South Atlantic Conference openers since joining the league in 2010.
After opening the season by winning its first four decisions, Anderson (5-2, 0-0 SAC) is looking to get back in the win column after falling in four sets to defending Southeast Region Champion USC Aiken on the Pacers home court last Saturday afternoon. The match was closer than a first glance indicates, as the win/loss margin was no more than four points through the first three sets.
Sophomore setter Emily Conlin and senior outside hitter Marissa Mitter were each named to the USC Aiken Invitational All-Tournament Team over the weekend. Both players earned Preseason First-Team All-SAC recognition, with Saturday marking the second straight weekend that Mitter captured All-Tournament accolades.
Conlin nearly matched her career high by handing out 58 assists in the five-set loss to Augusta and leads the league in both total assists and assists per set after recording 196 assists (12.12/set), including match-highs, in all four contests in Aiken. She has posted double-doubles in three of the last four matches and has recorded four on the season. The Glendale, Ariz., native is third in the SAC with a team-high 12 service aces.
Mitter recorded 56 kills (3.50/set) in the four weekend matches, including a season-high 21 in the setback to USC Aiken on Saturday. She recorded three double-doubles in four of the tournament matches, while adding 51 digs over the weekend and chipped in four aces and nine block assists. She currently leads the SAC in total kills and ranks fourth in both kills per set and service aces.
Senior Rachel Burts and junior Jayln Knight are second on the team with 64 kills apiece on the season, with Burts holding a team-high .350 hitting percentage. Knight has posted a pair of double-doubles and has narrowly missed recording two more.
Senior Serena Jackson and sophomore Kathryn Hughes are tied for fourth on the squad with 46 kills on the season, with Jackson tied for tops in the conference with 24 total blocks. Junior Emily Conard paces the Trojans and is seventh in the league with 101 digs on the defensive side.
The Bears
Lenoir-Rhyne (3-2, 0-0 SAC) has won two straight and three of its last four after dropping its season opener to Saint Leo at the Nova Southeastern Shark Invitational on Sept. 1.
The Bears are coming off a 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-11, 25-19) win over Lees-McRae in L-R's home opener last weekend. Lenoir-Rhyne senior outside hitter Brooke Redmond led the way with a match-high 19 kills and 11 digs while sophomore defensive specialist Anna Smith added a double-double with 29 assists and 14 digs in the win.
Lenoir-Rhyne was tabbed fifth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 12-18 overall record and a 10-12 mark in league play last year. The Bears captured their first-ever SAC Tournament Championship two seasons ago and advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional finals for the first time in school history.
Redmond and senior middle blocker Emily Steele earned All-SAC Preseason First-Team honors for the Bears after both players were second-team all-league picks last season. Steele led the team and was second in the league in 2016 with 109 blocks, along with 242 kills last season. Redmond led the squad with 282 kills in addition to 243 digs last fall. In 2015, Redmond was a First-Team All-SAC honoree and Most Valuable Player of the SAC Championship Tournament. That season, Redmond had 401 kills, 356 digs and 21 service aces.
The Series vs. Lenoir-Rhyne
The Trojans and Bears have met just 17 times over the past 18 seasons, with Lenoir-Rhyne holding a narrow 9-8 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 2000 campaign. The Bears won the first-ever matchup, 3-0, and the series saw a seven-year lapse before L-R edged Anderson, 3-2, during the 2008 season.
The two squads have met 15 times as members of the SAC. Anderson has won six of the last eight matchups with the teams trading season sweeps each of the last three years – AU swept both meetings with the Bears during the 2014 season before falling twice to L-R in 2015. The Trojans edged Lenoir-Rhyne in five sets in Hickory last season before knocking off the Bears, 3-1, in Anderson.
Nine of the 17 contests between the two teams have gone the full five-set distance.
In the last matchup, Burts led all players with 16 kills, with Mitter adding a dozen kills and 13 digs. Kathryn Hughes tallied 11 kills, while Conlin recorded eight kills, handed out 50 assists and came up with 15 digs. Conard posted a match-high 27 digs and handed out six assists.
