ROCK HILL, S.C. – Heading into the semifinals after taking down Limestone on Monday, the Anderson University (25-5) women's volleyball team saw their trek through the 2023 South Atlantic Conference come to a close as they dropped their semifinal match-up to Tusculum, 3-0, at the Rock Hill Sports & Events Center on Wednesday, November 15.
Senior Jaelyn Grimm (Cedar Park, Texas) tallied ten kills in the contest to lead all hitters while senior Rylie Sargent (Greer, S.C.) and sophomore Kaitlyn Barrett (Inman, S.C.) each were able to record eight of their own. Senior Jenna Long (Clearwater, Fla.) led the Trojans in digs (15) and assists (31) while Sargent was able to record 1.5 blocks to lead the team.
The Trojans were able to jump out to an early lead in the first set as both Sargent and Grimm were able to record multiple kills, giving the Black and Gold the 9-6 advantage. That's when Tusculum was able to swing the advantage on their side of the scoreboard with a five-point run, but Anderson was able to answer with a five-point run of their own to bring the margin back up to three. The Pioneers were slowly able to chip away at the Anderson lead, with ties coming late in the set at 23-23 and 25-25. Tusculum was able to put away the final two points of the set, taking the first 27-25.
The second set started to flip the story in favor of the Pioneers as they were able to open the frame with a similar run to the Trojans from the first, taking the 10-7 lead. That three-point lead for Tusculum would stay and only increase to four points as the teams battled back-and-forth through the middle of the set. Coming out a time out trailing 22-16, the Trojans were able to score the next three-points, but the Pioneers matched that effort and put away the second set, 25-19.
Again, the third set started in favor of the Pioneers as they were able to take the lead at 7-4 and only worked to increase their advantage throughout the set. With the Trojans trailing by nine late in the set, the Black and Gold started to mount a comeback in the set, as they were able to pair points together on multiple occasions, eventually closing the gap to just four points. Unfortunately, that margin came at 24-20 and the Pioneers were able to score the final point of the set to knock the Trojans out of the tournament, 25-20.
Anderson will now turn their attention to the NCAA Southeast Regional tournament as they are currently slated to qualify for the NCAA Championships as they are ranked No. 4 in the southeast region. The field for the eight-team regional will be announced on Monday, November 20 on NCAA .com at 7:30 P.M.
