DUE WEST, S.C. – Behind a balanced effort, the Anderson volleyball team wrapped up its 10-match road swing by blanking Erskine, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-21) Tuesday night at Belk Arena.
Anderson improved to 7-3 on the season with its second straight win and claimed the first Beville Cup point of the year. The Trojans have won two straight and five of the last seven past the Flying Fleet, while handing the Fleet their fifth straight loss.
Erskine, the defending Conference Carolinas South Division Champion, fell to 1-8 on the season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Seniors Serena Jackson and Marissa Mitter led the Trojan attack with six kills apiece, while redshirt freshman Hailee Wilhelm added five kills. The veteran duo of Jackson and Mitter also recorded seven digs apiece. Seniors Rachel Burts and Mallory McFerron each added four kills apiece. Sophomore setter Emily Conlin handed out a match-high 30 assists and came up with a team-best eight digs, while notching four aces on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Despite committing six attack errors, The Trojans slipped past the Fleet in the opening set. After surrendering the first point, the Trojans reeled off a 6-1 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. Erskine trimmed the AU lead to 6-5 behind three unanswered points before the Trojans countered with three straight points of their own.
The Fleet again closed within 11-10, before AU capitalized on a service error to spark a run of four unanswered points that turned the one-point edge into a 15-10 advantage.
AU maintained at least a one-point margin until the Fleet rallied to even the score at 20 apiece before the Black and Gold closed the frame on a 5-2 surge, capped by Jackson's fourth kill of the set.
Second Set
The Trojans used an 8-2 outburst to turn a slim 5-4 edge into a 13-6 advantage. Burts and McFerron combined for a block to ignite the surge, with Conlin's ace capping the run.
AU steadily pushed out to a double-digit, 17-7, lead on yet another ace by Conlin and built an 11-point cushion (21-10) before wrapping up the set on a 4-1 run.
Third Set
The third frame featured 10 ties and neither team managed to build more than a three-point lead until the final margin. With Wilhelm knocking down a pair of kills, the Trojans rallied from an 18-15 deficit to knot the score for the 10th time, at 20 apiece. AU then closed the set on a 5-1 run with freshman Regan Duty knocking down match point.
NOTES
• The Trojans' are 6-2 in nonconference matchups on the season.
• Following last weekend's matches, the Trojans ranked 21st in the nation in assists per set (13.06/set) and 27th nationally in digs per set (18.84/set).
• Entering tonight's match, Conlin led the SAC in both assists and assists per set, while ranking seventh in the nation is assists per set (11.94/set).
• Burts has averaged 3.0 blocks per match over the last three contests.
• Jackson has averaged 3.3 blocks over the last four matches.
• 14 players saw action for the Trojans.
• Conlin has six double-doubles on the season.
UP NEXT
Anderson will open its home slate by playing host to South Atlantic Conference opponent Newberry, Friday night. First-serve versus the Wolves is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Abney Athletic Center.
