CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Despite 10 kills apiece from junior Regan Duty and senior Hailee Wilhelm, the third-seeded Anderson University volleyball team was unable to pull off an upset of No. 2 seed and host Queens, as the Royals swept AU, 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-22) in the semifinals of the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Championship, Friday night at the Levine Center.
Anderson slipped to 22-7 on the season with its third loss of the season to the Royals. The Trojans, who were tabbed sixth in the latest NCAA Southeast Region weekly poll, will be seeking an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when the selections are unveiled on Monday night.
"We did some good things defensively and our service game got better as the night went on but our inconsistencies with our attacking was too much to overcome," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "We found ourselves playing from behind for most of the night and that's not a good spot to be in against the consistency of Queens. Now we wait for the committee to decide whether or not we deserve to play after Thanksgiving."
Queens (24-5) won its eighth straight decision and earned its 12th win in 13 outings, with its only loss in that spoan coming on the road at then 24th-ranked and top-seeded Wingate. The Royals will be seeking their second SAC Tournament title in three seasons when they meet fourth-seeded Carson-Newman, which stunned top-seeded Wingate in four sets earlier Friday afternoon, in Saturday's Championship contest.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Duty added a pair of block assists to her kill total on the night, with Wilhelm notching three block assists. Sophomore Noelle Knutsen added six kills and three block assists, while junior Kaitlyn Grube tallied five kills and five digs. Senior setter Emily Conlin notched her 19th double-double of the season with 33 assists and 14 digs. Sophomore Meghan DeVaux posted a match-high 22 digs, with freshman defensive specialist Alexandra Petrilli chipping in 18 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Wilhelm led the Trojans' offensively in the opening frame by knocking down six kills, with Knutsen and freshman Taylor each posting four kills apiece.
The Trojans scored the first point of the frame, while Queens countering by scoring three straight to take a brief lead. The margin stayed narrow and after the Trojans fell behind 6-5, they regained a 7-6 advantage when Knutsen and Conlin combined on a block as part of an 8-3 run that turned the one-point deficit into 13-9 lead.
Queens responded with three straight points before Weber slowed the Royals with a kill to build AU's lead to 14-12. Queens' Lindsay Elmore pulled Queens within one with a kill and the Royals reeled off a three unanswered points as part of a 7-1 surge that gave them a 20-16 edge.
AU battled back within one on three occasions before an error by Queens knotted the score at 22 apiece. After the two teams traded kills, the Royals' Elmore and Chanel Turner claimed the win by knocking down back-to-back kills.
Second Set
The Royals carried their momentum over into second frame, as Queens claimed an early 7-2 advantage and forced an AU timeout.
The Trojans started to chip away at the deficit, but were unable to make any headway and were unable to overcome 10 attack errors during the set, while hitting just -.049.
Queens capitalized on the miscues and built a double-digit, 20-10, cushion on its way to the nine-point victory.
Third Set
The third frame featured a dozen ties and neither squad was able to claim more than a five-point lead.
Queens used a 6-1 run to snap a 5-5 deadlock, before Learmonth sparked an identical surge by the Trojans that knotted the score at 12 apiece. The score was tied two more times before Knutsen and Grube combined on a block that gave AU its first lead of the set, at 15-14. But the advantage was short-lived, as the score was even on five more occasions before the Royals scored two straight points to break a 20-20 deadlock and held on for the three-point won.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Trojans' .093 hitting percentage was their third-lowest of the season.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans were making their eighth consecutive trip to the conference tournament and ninth overall.
• The Trojans are 2-3 in the semifinals of the SAC Championship.
• The Trojans advanced to the title contest in 2013 and 2014, where they fell to top-seeded Wingate both times.
• The last time the Trojans knocked off Queens in Charlotte was Sept. 16, 2017, with each of the previous two meetings between the two teams at the Levine Center going the full five-set distance.
• With an at-large bid, the Trojans will make their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in seven seasons.
• The Trojans are now 0-2 against the Royals in the SAC Tournament.
UP NEXT
The Trojans, who were tabbed sixth in the latest NCAA Southeast Region weekly poll, will be seeking an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when the selections are unveiled on Monday night.
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: #4 Carson-Newman 3, #1 Wingate 1
Game 6: #2 Queens 3, #3 Anderson 0
Saturday, Nov. 23 (at Queens University of Charlotte)
Game 7: #4 Carson-Newman vs. #2 Queens, 2:00pm
SAC TOURNAMENT INDIVIDUAL DAILY TICKETS:
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
