HARROGATE, Tenn. – Behind yet another balanced attack, the Anderson volleyball team captured a South Atlantic Conference road win by knocking off Lincoln Memorial, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-12) Friday night at Mary Mars Gym.
"It's always good to pick a conference road win," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "The first set was very close and both teams were siding out at a high level. I'm glad we were able to find consistency towards the end of set two after a very poor beginning and then play our best set in the end when we needed it most."
Anderson Trojans (11-3, 5-2 SAC) won its second consecutive decision and has won 10 of its las 12 outings, while Lincoln Memorial (5-10, 3-4 SAC) suffered its second straight loss.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior middle hitter Noelle Knutsen led all players with 13 kills, while junior Rylie Sargent and senior Liliana Kinder each added nine kills apiece. The veteran trio combined to hit .387 on the night, with Kinder committing just one miscue in 15 attacks. Senior setter Madison handed out a match-high 31 assists and came up with eight digs, while senior Alexandra Petrilli recorded a match-best 12 digs. In addition to her five kills, junior Jaelyn Grimm notched three digs and a pair of block assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Trojans gained the upper hand early and pushed out to a 7-4 lead, but were unable to put any more separation between them and the Railsplitters.
LMU stayed within striking distance and chipped away at the AU lead – eventually capturing a brief lead, at 11-10, behind a brief 5-2 surge. The score was deadlocked three more times before the Trojans took advantage of back-to-back LMU errors t take the lead for good, at 15-13.
Moments later, the Trojans scored five unanswered points to turn a narrow, 17-16, lead into a late six-point cushion, as they closed the set on an 8-4 run.
Second Set
AU scored the first point of the second set, but quickly fell behind and trailed by as many as six points on three occasions.
The Trojans sliced the deficit to just two (16-14) but still trailed, 20-16, before mounting an improbable late comeback. Following an AU timeout, the Black and Gold battled back to knot the score at 21 apiece and with Knutsen knocking down two of her six kills in the set in the final moments, the Trojans completed the rally.
Third Set
After Knutsen notched six kills in the second set, it was Kinder's turn for a half-dozen in the third frame. AU never trailed after jumping out to a quick 5-1 advantage and left little doubt after building a double-digit, 15-5, lead.
With the Trojans hitting a blistering .407, LMU was unable to get any closer than seven the rest of the way.
NOTABLES
• Noelle Knutsen has notched double-figure kills in five of her last seven matches.
• Madison Roy has dished out at least 30 assists six times this season.
• Alexandra Petrilli has reached double-digit digs in seven consecutive matches and 13 of 14 contests this season.
• The Trojans have won six in a row and 10 of the last 11 matchups with the Lady Railsplitters, with five of the last eight meetings going five sets.
• LMU holds a 16-15 advantage in the overall series between the two schools
• The Trojans have recorded eight sweeps this season.
• The Trojans have hit above .300 in every match but three this season – LMU, Montevallo and Lenoir-Rhyne.
• AU has posted at least six total blocks in 11 of their 14 contests this year.
UP NEXT
Anderson will look to continue building momentum by earning a sweep of the road swing when the Trojans visit Carson-Newman, Saturday afternoon. First-serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
