ANDERSON, S.C. – After knocking off No. 6 seed Tusculum in the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals three nights ago at the Abney Athletic Center, the Anderson University volleyball team will be making its third straight appearance and fifth overall in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Semifinals, Friday night in Charlotte, N.C.

Friday's semifinals feature the top four seeds squaring off, with the No. 3 seeded Trojans slated to meet No. 2 seed and host Queens at 6:30 p.m. inside the Levine Center, following the matchup between top-seeded Wingate and fourth-seeded Carson-Newman.

The Trojans and Royals will be meeting for the third time this season, with AU in the hunt for the school's fifth NCAA appearance in seven seasons and its first automatic bid to the NCAA Southeast Regional. The last time the Trojans knocked off Queens in Charlotte was Sept. 16, 2017, with each of the last two meetings between the two teams at the Levine Center going the full five-set distance.

The Trojans
Anderson (22-6) is in the midst of its eighth consecutive trip to the conference tournament and ninth overall and with the sweep of Tusculum last Tuesday night, Anderson is 7-8 in its nine appearances in the conference tournament. The Trojans are 2-2 in the semifinals of the event after advancing to the title contest in 2013 and 2014.

The Trojans are 0-1 against the Royals in the SAC Tournament after Queens joined the league in 2013, with Queens claiming a 3-1 win during the 2016 tourney.

AU would be seeking its first SAC Tournament victory over Wingate in three attempts if both teams advance to Saturday's championship contest. The Bulldogs eliminated AU in the 2012 quarterfinals and the Trojans finished as tourney runners-up to Wingate in both 2013 and 2014.

Carson-Newman owns a 2-1 edge over the Trojans in SAC Tournament history, as the fourth-seeded and host Lady Eagles upended the top-seeded Trojans in five sets in the 2017 season's semifinal round. In 2015, AU extended the eventual NCAA Southeast Region Champions to five sets before succumbing in the quarterfinals at the Abney Athletic Center. The Trojans upset second-seeded Carson-Newman in the semifinals of the 2014 tourney.

The Trojans, who are ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Southeast Region poll, have reached the 20+ win plateau for the third straight season and fourth time in six years. As a team, the Trojans rank seventh nationally in aces per set and ninth in total aces, while ranking in the top third of the league in assists, kills, kills per set, hitting percentage and assists per set.

A program-record six Trojans earned All-Conference honors earlier this week, with senior Emily Conlin capturing First-Team All-South Atlantic Conference accolades for the third consecutive season, while being named the SAC Player of the Year. She captured SAC Specialist of the Week recognition on five occasions during the regular season - and 13 times during her career. The Glendale, Ariz., native is the only player in the conference with more than 1,000 assists and 300 digs and leads the conference in assists and assists per set.

Fellow senior Hailee Wilhelm, a middle hitter from Columbus, Ohio, garnered Second-Team All-SAC honors after ranking second on the team and 16th
in the league with 240 kills on the season. She is fourth in the league with her .336 hitting percentage and knocked down double-figure kills in 11 contests, including six of the last 10 regular-season. Wilhelm stands 14th in the school record books with 117 career block assists. Junior Regan Duty claimed a spot on the Honorable Mention All-SAC squad for the second consecutive season after ranking third on the squad in both kills (217) and total blocks (56), while posting double-figure kills in nine matches.

Joining Duty among Honorable Mention selections were sophomores Maya Learmonth and Noelle Knutsen. Learmonth captured the honor after notching double-digit kills in 13 regular-season matches and paced the Trojans with a
career-high 250 kills during the regular season.

Knutsen earned the postseason accolade following a regular season that saw the Parker, Colo., native rank fifth in the conference in hitting percentage (.326) and stand 14th in the conference with a team-best 78 total blocks. Lindsay McCurley captured a spot on the SAC All-Freshman squad after notching 45 service aces during the regular season, which placed the Simpsonville, S.C., native, at 39th in the country. She ranked ninth in the SAC and leads the Trojans with nearly 400 digs.

No. 2 Queens
Queens (23-5) claimed a spot in Friday's semifinals with a 3-0 win over seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne two nights ago. The Royals, who were ranked third in the Southeast Region in the NCAA's latest Division II Southeast Region rankings, are riding an eight-game win streak and have won 11 of its last 12 decisions. Queens' only loss during that 12-match span was on the road at 24th-ranked and top-seeded Wingate. Two of the Royals' setbacks this season came at the hands of the Bulldogs.

The Royals, who posted a 14-15 overall record a year ago, including a 10-10 mark in league action, were a preseason pick to finish fifth in the 2019 SAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Queens Head Coach Hannah Long was named the SAC Coach of the Year earlier this week, while juniors Casey Tarvin, Logan Witt and JayCee Jones, along with senior Malllory Swarts and freshman Anna McLain each captured all-conference honors.

Tarvin earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team after being named Offensive Player of the Week on four separate occasions this season. A native of Leander, Texas, Tarvin finished second in the SAC with 328 kills and 3.64 kills per set while hitting .206 on the outside. She also averaged 4.19 digs per set to go along with 42 total blocks and 24 service aces. Her 16 double-doubles led the team.

Witt, an All-Conference Honorable Mention a year ago, was second on the team 2.69 kills per set and led the Royals with a .345 hitting percentage. She also chipped in 81 total blocks in the middle. Swarts earned an all-conference nod for the first time in her four-year career, guiding the Royals' offense to a .202 team hitting percentage and dishing out 9.99 assists per set as the team's primary setter. She ranked among the league leaders with 44 service aces and also recorded 2.70 digs per set while collecting 15 double-doubles.

Libero JayCee Jones garnered Honorable-Mention accolades after totaling 472 digs for an average of 4.92 digs per set to go along with 26 service aces. Anna McLain was named to the All-Freshman squad after totaling 127 kills and hitting .210 to go along with 33 total blocks from the right side.

The Series vs. the Royals
The Trojans are 27-14 versus Queens over the past 20 seasons and have won 24 of the last 32 meetings, including five of the last nine matchups. The two teams have met just 15 times since 2009, when both were members of Conference Carolinas, with Queens joining the SAC in 2013.

Queens swept the regular-season meetings between the two squads, holding off the Trojans in five sets earlier this season in Charlotte, then defeating AU in four sets two weeks ago at the Abney Center.

The two teams split last season's regular-season matchups, with each squad defending its home court. AU knocked off the Royals, 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 20-25, 25-21) in early October at the Abney Center, with Queens avenging the loss by outlasting the Trojans in five sets a month later in Charlotte, N.C.

The Trojans defeated Queens, 3-1, in the 2017 season's first regular-season matchup in Charlotte, in a victory that ignited AU's school-record 22-match win streak, then swept the Royals at the Abney Center in mid-October and again in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament in St. Augustine, Fla.

No. 1 Wingate
Wingate (29-1) claimed a spot in Friday's semifinals with a 3-0 win over eighth-seeded Lincoln Memorial three nights ago. The top-seeded and 24th-ranked Bulldogs have won 10 straight since being upended by Carson-Newman last month.

Wingate was the top team in the latest NCAA Southeast Region rankings after winning its 13th regular-season SAC Championship in 14 seasons – the Trojans won the 2017 regular-season title – and the Bulldogs are making an appearance in the semifinals for the 15th consecutive year. Wingate is seeking its second straight tourney title and 14th overall.

Seniors Rachel Alles, Lynnlee Mather and Treslyn Ortiz were joined by junior Sophie Schaff on the ALL-SAC First Team, while Maggie Young earned a spot on the All-SAC Freshman Team.

Alles earned all-conference recognition for the fourth straight season, while picking up first team accolades for the second straight year. Last year's SAC and Region Player of the Year leads Wingate with 5.79 assists per set, ranking second on the team with 3.51 digs per set while her 75 total blocks are also second on the squad, with her 161 kills ranking fourth. Mather leads the SAC with a .393 hitting percentage, while contributing 2.19 kills per set.

Ortiz is fourth in the SAC with 4.85 digs per set, while finishing the regular season with a league-best 46 aces. She has double-digit digs in 28 of 30 matches. Schaff leads the Bulldogs with 3.20 kills per set and is hitting .310. She ranks fourth in the SAC in kills, fifth in blocks and ninth in hitting percentage and has registered double-digit kills 15 times this year.

The Series vs. the Bulldogs
After defeating the Bulldogs just once in the first 17 years of the program, the Trojans have knocked off the perennial regional powerhouse three times in their last eight meetings and on four occasions overall. The Trojans' first-ever win over the Bulldogs came in their first year as a member of NCAA Division II. Wingate has won 24 of the last 27 matchups and leads the overall series, 24-4.

The Trojans snapped a 19-match skid at the hands of their SAC opponent when they stunned Wingate with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-8, 25-14) win at the Abney Center in mid-October of the 2016 campaign. At the time, the loss marked just the Bulldog's fourth SAC loss in three years. The Bulldogs avenged the loss by sweeping AU, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) in their first meeting two seasons ago in the Tar Heel State.

History repeated itself on Homecoming Weekend two years ago, when the Trojans handed the 21st-ranked Bulldogs their first loss of the season at the Abney Center. After dropping a four-set decision at Wingate last September, the Trojans knocked off the Bulldogs, 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 18-25, 25-19) on Senior Night last year.

In addition to the regular season home-and-home matchups, the two teams have squared off in two of the last six SAC Tournament Championships, with the Bulldogs sweeping AU on both occasions.

Wingate swept the Trojans in the conference opener for both squads in mid-September, then edged AU in five sets on Nov. 1.

No. 4 Carson-Newman
Fourth-seeded Carson-Newman (23-7) earned a berth in the tournament semifinals by blanking No. 5 seeded Mars Hill Tuesday night in Jefferson City, Tenn. The Eagles were fourth in this week's NCAA Southeast Region rankings and have won eight of their last nine outings, with their only setback coming at the hands of the Royals in Charlotte in mid-November. Carson-Newman dealt the Bulldogs their only loss of the regular season and are looking to make it two straight over top-seeded Wingate.

Wingate and Carson-Newman are squaring off in the conference championships for the 11th time, with the Bulldogs holding a 9-1 edge in the meetings. The lone win for the Eagles came on Oct. 28, 2000.

The Eagles, who went 16-13 overall in 2018, with an 11-9 SAC record and finished in a tie for fourth place with Lenoir-Rhyne, were a preseason pick to finish in a tie for third alongside Lincoln Memorial in the 2019 SAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Senior Marnie Streeter landed a spot on the First-Team All-Conference squad, while teammates Morgan Ballard and Erin Edwards collected second-team recognition. Streeter was an All-Freshman team pick in 2016 and earned second-team accolades as a sophomore. She ranks seventh in the league in kills per set with 2.94 while being tied for fourth in total kills at 312. The outside hitter has 17 matches with at least 10 kills leading the team 13 times with six double-doubles.

Ballard leads the league in digs per set with 5.80 and total digs with 615. She is in the top-20 nationally in both areas after posting double-digit digs in every match this year. Ballard posted a season-high 36 digs twice this season - both in matches against Anderson. Edwards averaged 2.59 kills per set on the year, which was good for 15th in the league while hitting .306. She ranks ninth in the conference with 277 total kills.

The Series vs. the Eagles
The Trojans and Eagles have met 26 times over the past 14 seasons, with 23 of the matchups occurring since AU joined the league in 2010. The overall series, which began in 2006, is deadlocked at 13 victories apiece.

Carson-Newman won the first five meetings in the overall series and the two teams have nearly evenly split the last 14 matchups, with AU sweeping the 2016 and 2017 regular-season matchups before Carson-Newman edged the Trojans in a five-set thriller in the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Tournament in Jefferson City, Tenn.

The two teams split last year's regular-season matchups, with each squad defending their home court, while AU swept this year's matchups.

2019 SAC Volleyball Championship
Tuesday, Nov. 19 (at highest seeds)
Game 1: #1 Wingate 3, #8 Lincoln Memorial 0
Game 2: #4 Carson-Newman 3, #5 Mars Hill 0
Game 3: #2 Queens 3, #7 Lenoir-Rhyne, 0
Game 4: #3 Anderson 3, #6 Tusculum 0

Friday, Nov. 22 (at Queens University of Charlotte)
Game 5: #1 Wingate vs. #4 Carson-Newman, 4:00pm
Game 6: #2 Queens vs. #3 Anderson, 6:30pm

Saturday, Nov. 23 (at Queens University of Charlotte)
Game 7: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6, 2:00pm

SAC TOURNAMENT INDIVIDUAL DAILY TICKETS:
Semifinals: (Friday, Nov. 22; Charlotte, N.C.) Adult - $ 10.00; Youth (12 and under)/Senior (60+) Active or Retired Military - $6.00; College Students with college ID - $ 2.00
Finals: Adult - (Saturday, Nov. 23; Charlotte, N.C.) $ 8.00; Youth (12 and under)/Senior (60+) Active or Retired Military - $5.00; College Students with college ID - $ 2.00

2019 SAC Volleyball Championship Bracket (pdf)

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