ANDERSON, S.C. – In an electric atmosphere befitting a match with postseason implications, Anderson fed off the Abney Athletic Center energy and upended lead-leading Tusculum, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-23) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action, Saturday afternoon.
Anderson improved to 18-6 overall and 13-3 in the league with its sixth consecutive victory and 10th win in 11 decisions. Tusculum (17-4, 13-3 SAC), which was coming off a surprising three-set loss three nights ago at Newberry, has now suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore Jaelyn Grimm and senior middle blocker Noelle Knutsen each shared match-high honors with eighth kills apiece, with Grimm notching a .353 hitting percentage and recording four block assists. Knutsen added three block assists. Sophomore Sadie Kluner tallied six kills, with senior Regan Duty and sophomore Tabitha Wheeler each knocking down five kills and two block assists apiece.
Junior setter Madison Roy, the reigning AstroTurf SAC Offensive Player of the Week, recorded 30 assists, two service aces, four digs and three block assists.
Senior Meghan DeVaux came up with a match-best 15 digs, while Alexandra Petrilli added eight digs and freshman hitter Hannah Neff had seven.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Kluner started strong – pacing the Trojans with six kills in the opening frame. After trailing early, AU drew even with the Pioneers at eight apiece in the midst of a 10-3 scoring outburst that saw the Trojans turn an 8-6 deficit into a 16-11 lead on a service error by Tusculum.
The Trojans led by as many as six on four occasions before settling for the eight-point victory.
Second Set
Grimm and Knutsen led AU with four kills apiece in the second set, with the Black and Gold hitting at a match-high .200 clip.
After quickly falling behind, 6-1, it was a long climb back for the Trojans, but after nearly catching Tusculum on several occasions, the Black and Gold finally drew even at 17 apiece and again at 18-18, only to see the Pioneers push back out to a 22-19 advantage.
Knutsen's fourth kill of the frame ignited the Trojans' finally rally, as AU scored five unanswered points to overtake the Pioneers. With AU trailing, 22-20, following Knutsen's score, the Trojans capitalized on back-to-back attack errors to reach set point. Following a score from TU, Kluner put down the winning kill.
Third Set
Tusculum took the early momentum and jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead, but the Trojans chipped away and finally knotted the score at 12-12. The score was even four more times before a Knutsen kill gave AU the lead for good, at 21-20.
Following a miscue by the Pioneers, Knutsen knocked down another kill to boost AU's edge to 23-20. Tusculum climbed within one to force an AU timeout, but a pair of service errors in the final three points proved fatal to Tusculum's comeback hopes.
STAT OF THE AFTERNOON
The Trojans' nine service aces matched their third-highest tally of the season, while Tusculum's 12 service errors equaled the third-highest by an opponent this season.
NOTABLES
• Anderson, Lenoir-Rhyne, Tusculum and Wingate are all tied for first place in the league standings with two matches left in the regular season.
• Tusculum owns a 17-14 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1997 season.
• AU has won 11 of the last 14 matchups with Tusculum
• The Trojans have won six straight matches, 10 of their last 11 and 12 of their last 14.
• AU improved to 6-2 at home this season.
• AU improved to 11-0 in three-set matches this season.
• Meghan DeVaux is currently in 13th place in the school record books with 1,312 career digs and currently ranks ninth on school history with her 3.58 career digs per set average.
• Lindsay McCurley equaled her career-high with five service aces on the afternoon.
UP NEXT
Anderson will play host to Newberry, Tuesday night at the Abney Center. First-serve vs. the Wolves is slated for 7 p.m. The Trojans are scheduled to close out the regular season on Friday against Limestone.
