ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team will wrap up the nonconference portion of its schedule when Conference Carolinas-foe Emmanuel invades the Abney Athletic Center for the first time in program history on Tuesday night.
First-serve versus the Lady Lions is set for 7 p.m.
Admission to all home volleyball matches is free.
The Trojans
Anderson (12-3, 9-2 SAC), will be looking to bounce back from a hard-fought, five-set loss at Queens last Saturday that snapped its 10-match win streak. The Trojans will also be putting their 31-match home win streak on the line – having not lost in the Electric City since October, 2016.
Sophomore outside hitter Maya Learmonth leads the Trojans and is 12th in the South Atlantic Conference with 149 total kills, while ranking sixth in the league with her 3.10 kills per set. A native of Pflugerville, Texas, Learmonth has reached double-figure kills in nine matches, including three of the last four. Junior hitter Regan Duty is second with 123 kills on a balanced squad and ranks
18th in the conference in hitting percentage, 21st in kills per set and 24th in kills.
Senior Hailee Wilhelm is fourth in the league with her .351 hitting percentage, while posting double-digit kills in four of the last six matches, including two straight and has averaged nearly 11 kills per match since the end of September. Sophomore middle hitter Noelle Knutsen has notched double-figure kills in five of AU's last seven contests, while averaging more than 10 kills per match and hitting .404 over the seven-game stretch.
Freshman Lindsay McCurley leads the Trojans and is tied for 10th in the SAC with 215 digs (3.71/set), while recording double-figure digs nine times, including two straight and a season-high 28 against Queens.
Senior Emily Conlin posted a pair of double-doubles last weekend, while averaging nearly 50 assists and 18 digs per match. The Glendale, Ariz., native continues to lead the conference in both assists and assists per set, while ranking 12th in service aces, 13th in aces per set, 20th in digs and 21st in digs per set.
Emmanuel
The Lions, who posted a 23-9 overall record a year ago, including a 14-1 mark and a first-place finish in the South Division of Conference Carolinas, were a preseason pick to win the Conference Carolinas' title again this season after also capturing the conference tournament crown and earning a trip to the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament in their first year of postseason eligibility.
Emmanuel (9-8, 5-1 CC) has won four straight decisions and five of its last six outings, while posting a 5-6 record away from home this season. The Lady Lions are 2-1 against teams from the South Atlantic Conference this season, having defeated Mars Hill and host Lincoln Memorial, while falling to Carson-Newman in five sets at LMU's season-opening tournament back in early September.
Senior Aysha Avery, a transfer from Florida State College and the Conference Carolinas' Defensive Player of the Year a season ago, along with fellow seniors Jessica Gray and Stephanie Hardy, were named as Preseason Conference Carolinas "Players to Watch."
Hardy leads the league in both assists (638) and assists per set (9.97/set), while Gray is third in kills (202) and fourth in kills per set (3.26/set). Avery ranks second in Conference Carolinas with 317 digs and stands third with 4.95 digs per set.
The Series vs. the Lady Lions
The Trojans and Lady Lions have met just three times, with AU holding a 2-1 edge in the overall series that only began in 2016.
Emmanuel won the first-ever meeting, 3-1, on the second day of the 2016 Francis Marion Tournament, while the Trojans avenged the loss by blanking the Lady Lions in the 2017 season-opener at the Georgia College Tournament.
AU edged the Lady Lions in a four-set battle last season in Franklin Springs, Ga.
