ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team will wrap up the first of two season-high four-match homestands when the Trojans welcome Newberry to the Electric City, Tuesday night for a South Atlantic Conference matchup at the Abney Athletic Center.
First-serve versus the Wolves is slated for 7 p.m.
Admission to all home volleyball matches is free.
The Trojans
Anderson (15-3, 11-2 SAC) is looking to stretch is home win streak to 35 consecutive matches – having not lost in the Electric City since October, 2016, when Coach Todd Hay's Wolves swept the Trojans, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18).
AU has won three straight and 13 of its last 14 decisions and is tied for second place in the conference standings, alongside Queens, with Wingate leading both teams by one game after losing in four sets two days ago at Carson-Newman.
The Trojans lead the SAC in assists (847) and service aces (153) and rank second in aces per set (2.25/set), assists per set (12.46/set), kills per set (13.24/set) and hitting percentage (.214).
Sophomore Maya Learmonth continues to lead the Trojans and ranks fifth in the conference with her 3.16 kills per set. She stands 10th in the league with 180 total kills and has reached double-figure kills in 10 matches, including four of the last seven. She has averaged 10 kills per match over the seven-match span.
Senior Hailee Wilhelm remains among league leaders in hitting accuracy, as the Columbus, Ohio, native is fourth with a .337 hitting percentage. She has posted double-digit kills in five of the last nine matches, while averaging 10 kills per match over the nine-game span.
Sophomore Noelle Knutsen has notched double-figure kills in three of AU's last five contests and has averaged nine kills per contest over the last five outings, while junior Regan Duty has also notched double-figure kills in three of the last five matches, while averaging nearly 10 kills per game over the five-match span.
Senior setter Emily Conlin, who has earned SAC Specialist of the Week accolades four times this season, averaged nearly 39 assists and more than 12 digs per match in three wins last week. She notched her 10th double-double of the season and equaled a season-high with 54 assists in the four-set win over Mars Hill.
Behind a balanced defensive effort, freshman Lindsay McCurley leads the Trojans and ranks ninth in the SAC after recording double-figure digs 12 times, including the last five matches. Classmate Alexandra Petrilli has posted double-digit digs six times this season, including two straight and sophomore Meghan DeVaux has come up with double-figure digs on 11 occasions this season.
Newberry
The Wolves, who posted an 8-19 overall record a year ago, including a 3-17 mark in conference action, were a preseason pick to finish 11th in the 2019 SAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Newberry (4-14, 2-11 SAC) has dropped six straight decisions and nine of its last 10, with the victory coming at the expense of league-newcomer UVa-Wise in early October.
Junior middle hitter Zoe Dinkins was named Preseason Second-Team All-Conference after starting all 27 matches last season and being named to the All-SAC Honorable Mention squad. She was the conference statistical champion in blocks per set with 1.37 and set the school record for total blocks (136), block assists (112), and blocks per set (1.37). She also ranked fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.293) and was second on the team in total kills with 194.
The Series vs. the Wolves
The Trojans will be seeking their 12th win in the last 13 meetings with Newberry after sweeping last year's regular-season series with the Wolves and claiming a 3-1 win over Newberry in mid-September.
The Trojans and Wolves have met 27 times over the past 21 seasons, with AU holding a 19-8 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1999 campaign. The two squads met just once between 2005 and 2009, with 15 of the 27 overall matchups coming since the Trojans joined the SAC in 2010. AU claimed the first three league meetings, with Newberry then winning three straight before Anderson swept the 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 regular-season series.
Learmonth led the Trojans with 12 kills in AU's earlier win this season, while junior Kaitlyn Grube notched 10 kills. Wilhelm posted eight kills on the strength of a .583 hitting percentage, while recording a pair of service aces, three digs and two block assists.
Junior Regan Duty added six kills and three block assists, with Conlin notching a double-double by dishing out 32 assists and coming up with 10 digs. The Glendale, Ariz., native also posted four service aces, while junior Christina Stacy recorded a career-high six aces, including four in the decisive fourth set. DeVaux tallied a team-high 15 digs and Petrilli came up with 10 digs.
