GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Paced by the senior duo of Liliana Kinder and Noelle Knutsen, the Anderson volleyball team wrapped up its regular-season slate against SAC Mountain Division opponents with a four-set, 3-1 (25-16, 27-29, 25-19, 25-14) win over Tusculum, Friday night at Pioneer Arena.
"It feels great to go 2-0 on the road this week," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "Tusculum is such a tough environment in which to win and their team plays very well at home. There is a reason we haven't won there since 2018. Tonight though, we were steady for 3-of-4 sets and our service game played a big part. Hopefully we can continue to build on the lessons from tonight and be an even better team going forward. Hope to see everyone in the Abney Center on Tuesday night!"
Anderson (17-4, 11-3 SAC) won its sixth consecutive decision and has won eight of its last nine decisions, while Tusculum slipped to 7-8 overall and 7-5 in league play after dropping two of its last three outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Kinder led all players with 19 kills on a .359 hitting percentage after committing just five errors in 39 attempts. Knutsen added 13 kills, four solo blocks and a block assist. Junior Jaelyn Grimm recorded seven kills behind a .545 hitting percentage, while notching three service aces, three block assists and a solo block. Meg Sansbury and Tabitha Wheeler each chipped in five kills apiece, with Wheeler adding 12 digs. Junior Rylie Sargent recorded seven kills, two block assists and a solo block.
Junior setter Jenna Long handed out 53 assists – just one shy of her career-best effort at Mars Hill just last Tuesday night. The Clearwater, Fla., native also tallied eight digs. Sophomore Hannah Neff shared team-high honors with a dozen digs, while Lindsay McCurley posted 11 digs and a pair of aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Sansbury and Kinder each led the Trojans with four kills apiece in the opening set, and with AU posting a .355 hitting percentage, the Black and Gold never trailed after opening an early 6-2 advantage.
Grimm and Wheeler helped set the pace with two early aces, but the Pioneers stayed within striking distance and eventually knotted the score at 10-10 for the only tie of the first set. With Grimm again serving – and adding another ace - the Trojans countered with four unanswered points and led by at least two until turning a late four-point lead into the nine-point win by scoring the final five points of the frame.
Second Set
Kinder and Knutsen combined for 11 kills in the second frame and unlike the first set, the second stanza featured 15 ties.
The Pioneers struck early and opened a quick 5-2 edge before AU countered with a 10-2 outburst to build a 12-7 lead behind Knutsen's three kills and Kinder's two. But four consecutive miscues allowed Tusculum cut AU's lead to just one and neither team was able to build more than a two-point advantage the rest of the way.
AU grabbed a late 24-22 lead on back-to-back Pioneer errors, but Tusculum held off set point twice and eventually snapped a 27-27 deadlock with two consecutive points.
Third Set
Kinder led the Trojans with six kills during the set, with AU breaking a 12-12 tie by posting a 9-2 surge that was fueled by two kills apiece from Kinder and Knutsen, with the pair also each posting block assists during the breakout.
After building the seven-point cushion, the Trojans held at least a five-point lead the rest of the way.
Fourth Set
With Alexandra Petrilli serving, the Trojans took a 12-8 lead, only to see Tusculum trim the advantage to just two, at 15-13, and force a timeout.
Following the break, the Trojans scored eight straight points and opened up a double-digit, 23-13, lead and finished the set with a convincing 10-2 run.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans have now posted exactly nine service aces in six consecutive matches.
NOTABLES
• Kinder's match-high 19 kills were her second-highest total of the season – just two behind her 21 kills against Indianapolis.
• The Trojans improved to 8-3 away from home on the season.
• Tusculum owns a 17-15 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1997 season, with 13 of AU's victories coming since the 2013 campaign.
• The Trojans have won three of the last four meetings and 14 of the last 18 matchups.
UP NEXT
Anderson will wrap up its non-conference slate by playing host to Lander, Tuesday night at the Abney Athletic Center. First-serve vs. the Bearcats is scheduled for 6 p.m.
