ANDERSON, S.C. – Returning to the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center for the first in over a week, the Anderson University volleyball team gave the home crowd a spectacle as they were able to down the Catawba Indians with a 3-0 sweep in league action on Friday, September 15.

"We are very pleased with tonight's win, but not overly pleased with how we played," said head coach Todd Hay. "I felt like we could have done a much better job on first contact and some of our out-of-system plays were not as crisp as they need to be."

As a whole, the Trojans hit .308 on the evening, an effort led by senior Sadie Kluner (Venice, Fla.) who was able to tally 11 kills on the night for a .524 hitting percentage of her own. Senior Meg Sansbury (Seneca, S.C.) and senior Rylie Sargent (Greer, S.C.) were each able to record seven kills in the contest as well. Senior Jenna Long (Clearwater, Fla.) led the Trojans with 29 assists while her 12 digs tied for a team high with sophomore Savannah Cox (Simpsonville, S.C.). Junior Hannah Neff (Fort Mill, S.C.) also eclipsed double digit digs with 10.

"However, out service game kept us in it, and we ended up with more aces than errors."

Catawba looked to come out in the opening set and spoil the Trojans homecoming as they were able to keep the score within two points over the opening stretch, including six ties culminating at 12-12. Anderson used three separate runs of two points each, with single point interruptions by the Indians, to swing the advantage to their favor 19-14. The teams traded pairs of points back and forth before the Trojans were able to close the door on the Indians in the final stretch, taking the opening set 25-19.

The second set saw Catawba take advantage of some early momentum as they were able to stretch out to an early 7-4 advantage. Anderson was able to flip the script at that mark as they were able to score the next three points, tying up the set at 7. Each team would post a four-point run to bring the tie back at 11 and that's when the Trojans really turned the tide. After allowing the Indians to take the lead at 14-13, the Trojans rattled off another four points to take the lead at 17-14. Another four-point run followed right behind a one-point hiccup with another three-point run saw the Trojans leading 24-16. Catawba took the next three points, but Anderson was able to close the set by a 25-19 margin.

"Once we got into the third set, our play began to improve, and we definitely ended the night on a high note. Thank you to all our #TrojanArmy faithful who came out and supported us tonight."

The Indians did not have an answer for the Trojans in the third set as they would jump out to an early 8-3 advantage. The margin would only expand as kills from Kluner and Neff gave the Trojans the 12-5 lead. After a quick Catawba timeout, they were able to trade points back and forth with the Trojans for a beat, but with the 19-12 lead Anderson closed out the set with six straight points to wrap up the action, 25-12.

The Trojans return to action on Tuesday, September 19 as they make the trip to Hickory, N.C. to take on Lenoir-Rhyne in league action. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.