ANDERSON, S.C. – In a matchup between South Atlantic Conference Piedmont Division rivals, the Anderson volleyball team suffered a four-set loss, (19-25, 14-25, 25-13, 18-25) to Lenoir-Rhyne, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
"We had a tough night against their drive serves and did not get in system enough," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "We were out-hustled, out-passed, and just got beat in almost all phases of the match. We will regroup going forward and learn from this how we can be better players and coaches."
Anderson (9-3, 3-2 SAC) suffered its first home loss in six decisions this season, while Lenoir-Rhyne improved to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in league action with its fifth straight victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior outside hitter Liliana Kinder led all players with 15 kills on a .414 attacking percentage, with junior Jaelyn Grimm and senior middle hitter Noelle Knutsen each adding six kills apiece. Grimm also tallied four block assists on the night, while Knutsen recorded a pair of block assists. Junior outside hitter Meg Sansbury notched five kills over two sets.
Senior setter Madison Roy handed out a match-high 27 assists in three sets, while coming up with four digs, with junior setter Jenna Long recording six assists in the second frame. Sophomore Hannah Neff paced AU with a dozen digs and senior Alexandra Petrilli added 11 digs and four assists. Senior Lindsay McCurley and freshman Burns each recorded nine digs apiece.
A pair of grad students - Emma Clark and Ashley Hawkins – led the Bears with 11 kills apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Trojans struggled to get untracked offensive in the opening set and were unable to overcome double-digit attacking errors.
Lenoir-Rhyne struck early and grabbed a quick lead before AU knotted the score at 7-7. But the Bears went on a 7-2 run to force a timeout and built an 18-10 cushion, with AU only able to get as close as four (20-16) down the stretch.
Second Set
The Trojans slashed their errors by more than half in the second frame, but the visitors used a .324 hitting accuracy to go up by two sets.
LR jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead and the Black and Gold were unable to recover, with the Bears holding at least a five-point advantage the rest of the way.
Third Set
Kinder opened the third set with back-to-back kills to give the Trojans an early lead and they reversed their fortunes by snapping a 6-6 tie with a 5-1 surge to claim a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Grimm and sophomore Brantley Chipley sparked the run with a block assist, while Sansbury added a pair of kills to fuel the breakout.
Moments later, the Trojans doubled up Lenoir-Rhyne, 20-10, when Grimm and Kinder teamed up for a block assist, with AU going on for the 12-point win.
Fourth Set
Kinder and Knutsen combined for six kills in the fourth set, which featured eight tie scores in the early going.
Kinder's second kill of the set - followed by an error by LR - gave the Trojans a 13-11 advantage, but the Bears countered with five unanswered points to gain the upper hand. AU climbed back within 17-16, but was unable to overtake the Bears, who closed the match on a 6-1 run to earn their second straight win over the Trojans.
NOTABLES
• Lenoir-Rhyne finished last season as the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament runners-up.
• Noelle Knutsen nearly set a school record with her .667 hitting percentage last Saturday at Coker.
• The Trojans and Bears have met 29 times in the overall series that dates back to the 1999 campaign, with AU holding a 16-13 advantage.
• AU is 55-8 (.873) home record over the past five-plus seasons
• The Trojans have dropped two straight to the Bears, but have won 10 of the last dozen matchups with LR.
UP NEXT
Following a five-day layoff, the Trojans will play host to Newberry for the second time in two weeks. First-serve at the Abney Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.
