AIKEN, S.C. – The Anderson University volleyball team split a pair of decisions Friday afternoon at the USC Aiken Invitational, Friday afternoon, knocking off Lander, 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 22-25, 25-12) and but falling to Augusta in five sets, 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 13-15).
Anderson (4-1) handed Lander (4-1) its first loss of the season, but was unable to hold off Augusta, which improved to 4-2 on the season.
LANDER
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore outside hitter Kathryn Hughes equaled her career high with 15 kills on the strength of a .433 hitting percentage, while senior outside hitter Marissa Mitter notched her first double-double of the early season with 14 kills and 12 digs. The native of Redondo Beach, Calif. added five block assists, with junior outside hitter Jayln Knight recording her second double-double of the season with a dozen kills and 15 digs, while also tallying five block assists.
Senior middle blocker Rachel Burts chipped in 12 kills and six block assists, with senior middle blocker Serena Jackson recording six kills and six block assists. Sophomore setter Emily Conlin notched her second double-double of the early season with 53 assists and 13 digs. Junior libero Emily Conard came up with a match-best 23 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
After falling behind by two and facing set point, the Trojans rallied to outlast Lander for the victory. The two squads combined for 15 attack errors and the opening frame featured a dozen ties, with neither team able to build more than a three-point advantage.
With the Trojans holding an early 5-3 lead, Lander scored three consecutive points to take its first advantage of the frame, but the lead was short-lived, as AU quickly responded to even the score at six apiece on a kill by Hughes and gradually regained the edge with four unanswered points on the strength of Conlin's serves. The four straight points were part of a larger 7-3 outburst fueled by Mitter and Hughes that gave the Black and Gold a 15-12 edge.
But the Bearcats chipped away and countered with three straight scores of their own to take their largest lead, at 18-16. Facing the two-point deficit, the Trojans knotted the score two more times but were unable to reclaim the lead until Burts posted back-to-back kills to give AU a 21-19 advantage and force a timeout by Lander.
The Bearcats responded by rattling off a 5-1 run to claim a 24-22 advantage before AU ripped off the final four points of the set to claim the win. Knight sparked the comeback with a kill and the Trojans took advantage of back-to-back errors by the Bearcats, with Hughes knocking down her fifth kill of the frame to set the final score.
Second Set
The second set saw five ties, but the Trojans trailed just once – after Lander scored the first point of the set. With the score knotted for the fifth time - at 11 apiece - Hughes posted three straight kills to give AU a lead it would not relinquish.
The Bearcats climbed within 16-15, but AU countered with five unanswered points and closed the set on a 9-4 run, with Mitter recording three kills and Knight serving down the stretch.
Third Set
Lander took an early 9-4 lead and the Trojans were unable to recover, as LU built a 19-13 advantage and the Trojans were unable to get any closer than two the rest of the way.
Fourth Set
The Trojans bounced back strong in the fourth and final set, as they snapped an early 2-2 deadlock by reeling off a 12-2 scoring run to build a double-digit 14-4 cushion. Knight and Jackson combined for six kills during the breakout.
LANDER
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Knight led all players with 18 kills and added a dozen digs to post another double-double, while Mitter added another double-double with 15 kills and 18 digs. Burts posted 14 kills and three total blocks, while Hughes recorded 12 kills and three block assists. Conlin notched 58 assists – just two shy of her career high – and added 14 digs for her second double-double of the day. Jackson chipped in six kills and five block assists, with Conard tallying a team-high 23 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Trojans broke an early 4-4 tie and took the lead for good on a kill from Knight and after seeing the Lady Jags trim a 15-12 advantage to just one, Knight again sparked a 3-0 run to push AU's advantage to 18-14 and the Trojans broke open the set with a late 10-3 outburst for the eight-point winning margin.
Second Set
The second frame featured a half-dozen ties, with AU garnering an early lead. But Augusta grabbed a 7-6 advantage and despite knotting the score three more times, the Trojans were unable to wrestle the lead away.
With the score even at 15 apiece, the Lady Jaguars posted a 6-2 spurt and a late rally by the Black and Gold fell just shy.
Third Set
AU jumped out to an early lead and equaled its largest lead, at 20-13, before Augusta countered with eight unanswered points to take its first lead of the set. A kill by Jackson evened the score at 21-21, and the Trojans held off set point three times, but were unable to regain the momentum.
Fourth Set
After the Lady Jaguars scored the first two points of the set, AU reeled off six unanswered points as part of a 13-2 explosion. The Trojans steadily built a double-digit, 19-9, advantage and went on to claim the win.
Fifth Set
AU doubled up the Lady Jags, 6-3, early but Augusta responded with a 6-1 surge. The set was tied at 10, 11 and 12, with Augusta posting back-to-back points and had match point twice before taking the narrow win.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans posted a .270 hitting percentage on the day, while Lander and Augusta combined for a .176 hitting percentage.
NOTES
• The Trojans are 2-1 against teams from the Peach Belt Conference.
• The Trojans are 1-0 against teams from Conference Carolinas.
• After becoming the first AU team since 2014 to start the season with four consecutive wins, the Trojans were bidding to become the first squad to start 5-0 since the 2010 team began the season with five straight victories.
• AU has won three of the last four matchups with Lander.
• The Trojans are 7-5 versus Augusta over the last nine seasons.
• Mitter needs 89 kills to become the 11th player in school history to record at least 1,000 career kills.
• Conlin has passed former standout Betsy Fisher (2000-04) for sixth place in career assists in the school record books.
• Conard has 1,174 career digs and needs 25 to take over the 11th spot in the school record books.
UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the court Saturday, as the Trojans will square off against Mount Olive and the host Pacers. First-serve versus UMO is slated for 2 p.m.
