ANDERSON, S.C. – Paced by Noelle Knutsen's 14 kills and six block assists, the Anderson volleyball team wrapped up its Electric City Invitational by downing Alabama Huntsville, 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 25-8), Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
"What a great weekend of play we had inside the Abney Athletic Center," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "It was a great opportunity to show the AU spirit and hospitality to our visiting teams and their families. Thank you very much to our AU administration, our Sports Information staff, and the game day crew, along with the AU baseball team, volleyball officials and our own AU volleyball families that made this weekend a tremendous success. It was a great way to start our home season and our team is very thankful."
Anderson improved to 7-1 overall and is 1-0 in South Atlantic Conference action after blanking Catawba two nights ago at the Abney Center.
Alabama Huntsville fell to 4-3 on the season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Knutsen notched her fourth contest with double-digit kills, with the six block assists marking a season high for the Parker, Colo., native. She recorded the game-high effort behind a .545 hitting percentage. Junior Jaelyn Grimm was nearly as accurate, with the Cedar Park, Texas, native, posting a season-high nine kills with no errors in 19 swings for a .474 accuracy. She also tallied a pair of solo blocks and five block assists. Junior Rylie Sargent also knocked down nine kills and had three block assists on the day. Junior Sadie Kluner tallied eight kills and a pair of block assists, with senior setter Madison Roy handing out 42 assists and coming up with eight digs and five block assists.
Senior Alexandra Petrilli led the Trojans with 12 digs, while senior Lindsay McCurley and freshman Madison Burns notched eight digs and seven digs, respectively. McCurley also posted a match-best three service aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Grimm, Kluner and Knutsen each led the offensive attack with four kills apiece in the opening frame.
The Trojans jumped out to an early lead, then faltered briefly before snapping a 6-6 deadlock with an 11-5 run that provided some breathing room, as Grimm and Kluner each provided a pair of kills during the breakout.
Alabama Huntsville trimmed AU's edge to just four, at 19-15, but the Black and Gold held off the Chargers and increased their lead down the stretch.
Second Set
Sargent added five kills in the second set, but the Trojans stumbled midway through the frame, enabling the Charges to go on an 11-6 run and wrestle the lead away.
Trailing, 19-14, AU rallied to tie the score late, but AH's defense stepped up late with blocks to secure the narrow victory.
Third Set
Needing to bounce back in the third set, Knutsen and Kinder led the way with four kills apiece and the Trojans posted a match-best .429 hitting accuracy.
AU trailed just briefly early in the set, before pushing out to a late eight-point lead.
Fourth Set
McCurley, who leads the Trojans with 16 aces on the season, put on a serving exhibition to open the final set, as the Simpsonville native led the Trojans to 13 consecutive points to begin the frame.
After claiming the huge lead, the Trojans built their advantage to 16 (21-5) before eventually finishing with the 17-point win.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans' 22 block assists matched their second-highest total of the season.
NOTABLES
• Saturday's contest marked the first meeting in program history between AU and the Chargers.
• The Trojans have reeled off six straight wins following the five-set loss at UIndy.
• AU has posted double-digit blocks in four matches this season.
• Petrilli has recorded double-figure digs in seven matches.
• Knutsen averaged 3.58 kills per set and posted a .536 hitting percentage during the Electric City Invitational.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will close out their five-match homestand by getting back into South Atlantic Conference action when Newberry invades the Abney Center, Tuesday night. First-serve is slated for 6 p.m.
