ANDERSON, S.C. – Kicking off their South Atlantic Conference campaign with a mid-week meeting with the Wolves of Newberry College, the Anderson University Trojans were able to keep their season record unblemished as they posted a 3-0 sweep of the Wolves in the Abney Athletic Center on Tuesday, September 5.

"I'm very pleased with tonight's win in front of a great crowd for our home opener," said head coach Todd Hay. "I felt like we could jump on them early due to a number of new faces on their side and that turned out to be the case."

A trio of Trojans led the way with seven kills each as senior Jaelyn Grimm (Cedar Park, Texas), senior Rylie Sargent (Greer, S.C.) and sophomore Brantley Chipley (Spartanburg, S.C.) each reached that mark in the contest with Grimm leading the way with a .778 hitting percentage. Anderson had depth in their attack throughout the evening as another trio was able to reach a handful as senior Sadie Kluner (Venice, Fla.), senior Tabitha Wheeler (Greenville, S.C.) and sophomore Kaitlyn Barrett (Inman, S.C.) each tallied five kills.

Reigning SAC player of the week in senior Jenna Long (Clearwater, Fla.) posted 27 assists in the match while her and two other Trojans, sophomore Katy Smith (Fleming Island, Fla.) and sophomore Savannah Cox (Simpsonville, S.C.), each eclipsed the double-digit mark in digs on the evening.

The Trojans came out relentless in opening set, posting the first five points of the match, including back-to-back hammers from Kluner. Anderson posted two-more four-point runs in the opening set as they were able to extend their lead to 13-4 and then 19-5 over those two stretches.  The defense was stout throughout the first, allowing Newberry to only string together multiple points on one occasion. A trio of points initiated by serves from Cox gave the Trojans the final four-point run of the set, taking the first by a score of 25-9.

"As the match progressed, Newberry played much better and with some more confidence. Out service game paid off at some really key moments and our back row did a great job at extending rallies and covering the court."

After trading the first two points of the second set, the Wolves gained their first lead of the contest at 5-4 before the two teams bounced back and forth over the next few volleys.  Trailing by a score of 7-6 at the time, the Trojans caught fire again as they were able to string together six straight points to take the lead back at 12-7. A second six-point rally for the Trojans further extend their lead late in the second set as they were able to take a 19-9 advantage. Newberry was able to claw back five more points over the remainder of the set, but the Trojans proved to be too much, taking the second set 25-14.

The third set was the most electric of the evening as the two teams battled back and forth with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage leading up to a tie at the 11-11 mark. The Trojans hit small runs to take over the lead at 14-13, but the Wolves were determined to challenge them the rest of the way, taking a lead of their own at 19-18. The Trojans were able two swing the momentum of the contest back in their favor and outscore the Wolves by a 7-1 margin over the final points, wrapping up the sweep on the night with a 25-20 win in the third.

"Our offense is still a work in progress, but I felt like it was still moving in the right direction. Thanks to all our Trojan fans and the #TrojanArmy for a great atmosphere in the Abney."

Anderson returns to the road for another neutral site tournament as they have a four-game weekend at the Alabama Huntsville Invitational, featuring matchups with the home team, Montevallo, Trevecca Nazarene and Barry.