JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With senior Marissa Mitter and sophomore Kathryn Hughes combining for 29 kills, the Anderson volleyball team outpaced Carson-Newman, 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 25-27, 25-22) in South Atlantic Conference action, Friday night at Holt Fieldhouse.  

Anderson (11-3, 5-1) ran its win streak to six matches, while claiming its ninth road victory of the season by defeating the Eagles for the third straight time. Carson-Newman (6-6, 4-5 SAC) suffered its second straight setback and fourth loss in five outings.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Mitter reached double-figure kills for the third straight contest and 11th time of the season with 17 kills and narrowly missed her seventh double-double of the campaign by adding nine digs. Hughes posted 12 kills, including five in the third set, with senior Rachel Burts notching eight kills behind a match-best .381 hitting percentage.

Sophomore setter Emily Conlin handed out a match-high 42 assists, while tallying 12 digs and a pair of service aces. Defensively, junior libero Emily Conard led all players by equaling a season-high 23 digs. Junior outside hitter Jayln Knight chipped in 19 digs, with junior Megan Embry adding 13 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Trojans jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead, but it disappeared, as Carson-Newman snapped a 3-3 deadlock by scoring five unanswered points as part of a 9-5 run.

Trailing by four, AU took advantage of a Carson-Newman serve error to ignite a 9-1 scoring outburst of its own to turn the four-point deficit into a 17-13 lead. Mitter and Burts fueled the rally with four kills and a block assist.

The Trojans refused to surrender the lead and steadily built a 23-17 advantage and completed the comeback when Burts and Mitter sandwiched kills around a kill by the Eagles. 

Second Set
The second frame featured eight ties and the Trojans again overcame a four-point Carson-Newman lead. With the score deadlocked at 17 apiece, Burts' second kill of the set sparked an 8-2 outburst and gave AU a lead it would not relinquish.

The Trojans took the win by scoring the final four points of the set, with Conlin capping the win with an ace. 

Third Set
AU doubled up the Eagles at 14-7, but Carson-Newman chipped away and knotted the score at 21 apiece. Back-to-back miscues by the Eagles gave the Trojans a 23-21 edge, and the Black and Gold edged out to a 24-22 lead before Carson-Newman rallied to claim the win.   

Fourth Set
The score was tied six times before Mitter gave AU the lead for good with her third kill of the set, at 8-7. The Trojans never led by more than four points, but turned the Eagles away each time they closed within a point. 

NOTES
• The Trojans are 3-1 in four-set matches this season.
• AU has recorded 31 service aces in the last six matches.
• Conlin has nine double-doubles on the season.
• Mitter needs 13 kills to surpass former Trojan standout Shaunte' Heyward (2003-06) for 10th place in the school record books.
• Hughes has reached double-figure kills in two straight matches.
• Conard has posted double-figure digs in nine matches his season.
• Embry has reached double-figure digs in five matches his season.
• With her second block of the night Serena Jackson surpassed former standout Betsy Fisher (2000-04) and is now is now 11th in the AU record books with 179 career blocks. 
• Burts is 13th in the AU record books with 164 career blocks and needs 14 to surpass Fisher for 12th place.

UP NEXT
The Trojans will look to keep the streak going when they invade Lincoln Memorial's Mary Mars Gymnasium for a 1 p.m. match on Saturday.