SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – Led by its veterans, the Anderson University volleyball team opened the season with a pair of wins, defeating East Central Oklahoma State, 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 25-9), and rolling past Northwest Oklahoma State, 3-1 (23-25, 25-7, 25-17, 25-13) at the Angelo State Invitational, Friday night at the Junell Center.

"We played like an early season team for about 30-40% of the day but our old self started to emerge with each and every rep," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "Our serve game was huge in both matches to help earn quick points and key some critical point runs. Very thankful for the two wins and look forward to the huge challenges tomorrow. Go Trojans!"

Anderson improved to 2-0 with the victories, while East Central Oklahoma slipped to 0-2 on the young season after falling to top-ranked Angelo State earlier Friday. After losing to Texas A&M–Kingsville earlier in the day, Northwest Oklahoma State also dropped to 0-2.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Match #1
Anderson 3, East Central Oklahoma State 1
(25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 25-9)
Senior right-side hitter Regan Duty led all players with 15 kills – just one shy of her career high – while senior outside hitter Maya Learmonth and senior middle blocker Noelle Knutsen each added seven kills apiece. Knutsen posted a .462 attacking percentage after posting just one error in 13 swings and added five block assists in the season opener. Sophomore Sadie Kluner tallied five kills and three digs.

Junior setter Madison Roy dished out a match-high 36 assists, while recording eight digs, four service aces and three block assists. Junior Alexandra Petrilli came up with a match-best 21 digs, while junior Lindsay McCurley tallied 10 digs. Sophomore Jaelyn Grimm notched a solo block and five block assists, with freshman Hannah Neff and senior Meghan DeVaux recording four service aces and five aces, respectively.

East Central libero Thalianette Garcia, a second team All-Great American Conference selection last season, led the Tigers with nine kills and added 11 digs.

Match #2
Anderson 3, Northwest Oklahoma State 1
(23-25, 25-7, 25-17, 25-13)
Knutsen posted a team-high 14 kills on the strength of a .379 hitting percentage and added four block assists, with Learmonth notching 13 kills. Duty knocked down a dozen kills and recorded a pair of block assists, while Kluner tallied nine kills and six digs. Grimm recorded eight kills in 15 attempts with no errors for a .533 hitting percentage.

Roy handed out a match-high 47 assists and came up with seven digs, while Petrilli shared match-high honors with 17 digs. McCurley chipped in 12 digs, with DeVaux adding 10 digs. Neff rounded out the day with nine digs and three service aces in the nightcap.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Match
The Trojans overcame a -.043 hitting percentage in the opening set and hit just .071 on the afternoon, despite committing 32 attack errors, while holding East Central to a -.015 hitting accuracy on the day.

First Set
The Tigers scored the first four points of the frame, with Learmonth then getting AU on the scoreboard with her first kill of the season before East Central built an early 8-4 advantage.

AU crept back within two (8-6) on back-to-back errors by the Tigers, but EC answered by doubling up the Trojans at 12-6 to force a timeout by Hay, with the Black and Gold hitting at just a -.167 clip. Following the break, AU reeled off an 8-3 scoring run that Duty capped with her second kill of the set and pulled the Trojans within 15-14.

East Central countered with three straight points before the Trojans battled back within one on two occasions. With AU trailing, 20-19, Knutsen knotted the set at 20 apiece with her second kill and aided by a pair of aces from DeVaux, AU closed the set with eight unanswered points.

Second Set
East Central snapped an early 1-1 deadlock with six unanswered points and never trailed. The Tigers went on to lead by as much as 11, at 22-11, on the strength of a 13-4 scoring outburst, before AU answered with a late 7-1 run of its own to climb within 23-18.

But it was not enough, as East Central went on to claim their first set victory of the season by the six-point margin.

Third Set
The Trojans limited their attack errors to just five and posted a .237 hitting percentage in the third set.

Following a pair of early ties, Kluner gave the Trojans a lead they would not surrender, at 3-2, as AU methodically and steadily held at least a two-point advantage until Kluner's second kill of the set boosted the Trojans' edge to 17-13.

East Central got as close as two twice, but the Trojans pushed out to a late, 21-16, lead on a block from Grimm and closed out the win on a kill from Duty.

Fourth Set
Duty continued with the hot hand in the decisive fourth set, as the Inman native posted six kills in just nine attempts, with one error.

The Trojans overcame an early 7-3 deficit with five unanswered points and claimed the win after closing out the frame with an impressive 17-2 scoring onslaught, with the Black and Gold scoring the last 12 points of the set. Neff, in her collegiate debut, served for the final 11 points of the match and included four aces.

Second Match
First Set
The Trojans jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and following three consecutive points by the Rangers, Grimm scored twice to spark a 7-0 surge by AU that was capped by a kill from Kluner. But after building a seven-point edge on three occasions – the final time at 14-7 – the Trojans were unable to hold the early advantage.

Northwest Oklahoma posted a late 7-2 run to wrestle the lead away and held off the Trojans down the stretch.

Second Set
After the Rangers scored the first two points of the second frame, AU answered with a vengeance – scoring six unanswered points to force a NWOSU timeout. But the break failed to slow the Black and Gold, who scored five straight to force yet another Ranger timeout.

Leading, 11-2, the Trojans kept up the pressure by building a double-digit, 14-4, advantage on the way to the 18-point win behind a .500 hitting percentage.

Third Set
The third set featured four early lead changes and nine ties before a Ranger error and Duty's ninth kill of the frame gave AU a 14-12 lead.

The Trojans built a late seven-point lead three times before settling for the eight-point victory.

Fourth Set
AU hit .419 in the final set and never trailed. After pushing out to a comfortable 14-6 cushion, the Trojans led by at least six points the rest of the way.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans notched 22 service aces on the day.

NOTABLES
• Friday's contests marked the first-ever meetings between the teams.
• Regan Duty led AU with 27 kills (3.38/set).
• Meghan DeVaux's five service aces against East Central Oklahoma were just two shy of her career-best.
• Noelle Knutsen posted 21 kills on a .405 hitting percentage, while adding nine block assists.
• Among the four teams that have played two matches, Duty leads the South Atlantic Conference in both kills and kills per set, while Knutsen leads the SAC with her .405 attack percentage.
• Neff stands second in the SAC with seven aces and Petrilli paces the league in both digs and digs per set.
• Jaelyn Grimm recorded a .296 attack accuracy and posted seven block assists.

UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the court Saturday, when the Trojans square off against top-ranked and host Angelo State at 1 p.m. (EDT). AU will wrap up the tourney by facing Texas A&M - Kingsville at 5 p.m. (EDT).