ANDERSON, S.C. – Behind a potent serving attack, the Anderson volleyball team opened up a brief two-match homestand by sweeping league-newcomer Emory & Henry, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-12) Friday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson (14-4, 8-3 SAC) won its third straight decision and improved to 3-1 against rivals from the Mountain Division, while Emory & Henry, which is in its first season as a member of the SAC, fell to 2-17 overall and 2-9 in the league.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior middle hitter Noelle Knutsen led all players with seven kills over two sets, while not committing an error in eight swings for an .875 hitting percentage. Juniors Jaelyn Grimm and Meg Sansbury added five kills apiece and combined for a .400 attacking accuracy, with Sansbury also coming up with five digs and a service ace. Senior outside hitter Liliana Kinder also notched five kills and added a pair of block assists on the night.
Junior setter Jenna Long dished out 22 assists over the first two frames, with senior Madison Roy handing out 12 in the final set. Roy chipped in three aces, while Long recorded three digs. Lindsay McCurley posted three aces and tallied six digs, with Hannah Neff recording a pair of aces and five digs. Senior Alexandra Petrilli added five digs in the opening set.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Grimm notched all five of her kills in the opening set, while consecutive kills by the Cedar Park, Texas, native followed by kills from Sadie Kluner and Knutsen gave the Trojans some breathing room, at 14-9.
The Wasps close the gap to 15-13 moments later, but Knutsen and Kinder sandwiched kills around an E&H error to push AU's margin back to five and the Wasps were unable to get any closer than four the rest of the way.
Second Set
Emory and Henry took a quick 4-1 lead in the second set, but with McCurley serving, the Trojans countered with a 7-1 run – that included three aces - to take the lead for good.
AU steadily built a 15-8 advantage and, while E&H crept back within 17-13, the Trojans maintained at least a seven-point lead down the stretch.
Third Set
The Wasps scored the first two points of the third set, but it was all Black and Gold from there, as AU answered with a 16-4 scoring outburst that included three consecutive aces from Roy at one point.
After building the double-digit cushion, the Trojans led by as many as 14 down the stretch.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans have posted exactly nine service aces in three straight matches.
NOTABLES
• AU has won three straight decisions and five of its last six outings
• The Trojans improved to 8-1 at home this season and has posted a 58-8 (.879) home record over the past five-plus seasons.
• AU improved to 9-1 in three-set matches this season.
• McCurley is three service aces from moving onto a tie for 11th place all-time in AU's record books – and six shy of climbing into a tie for 10th place all-time.
• Knutsen has moved into 13th place in the school record books with 806 career kills and currently stands fifth in the record books with a career .309 hitting percentage. She is sixth all-time with 316 career blocks.
• Roy has moved into sixth place all-time with 2,384 career assists.
• Friday night's match marked the first meeting in program history between the two schools.
UP NEXT
Anderson will look to extend its win streak to four when the Trojans play host to UVA Wise, Saturday afternoon. First-serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
