WINTER PARK, Fla. – Using a balanced attack and a hot hitting percentage, the Anderson University volleyball team opened the Rollins Invitational with a pair of wins, defeating West Georgia, 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17), and sweeping the host Tars, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-12), Friday at Jenkins Fieldhouse.

"I was happy with our finish on the day," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "We played much more consistently in the evening match. Hopefully we can carry it over to tomorrow and keep getting better as a team."

Anderson improved to 4-2 with the wins, while handing West Georgia (4-1) its first loss of the young season. Rollins fell to 3-3 on the season with its third straight setback.

Senior right-side hitter Regan Duty paced the Trojans with 23 kills (3.29/set) on the day, while averaging an impressive .458 hitting percentage. Sophomore Sadie Kluner added 22 kills (3.14/set), with junior setter Madison Roy dishing out 87 assists. Senior Meghan DeVaux led the Black and Gold with 37 digs (5.29/set).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Match #1
Anderson 3, West Georgia 1
(25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17)
Duty led all players by matching her season-high with 15 kills in the opener on an impressive .424 hitting percentage. The Inman native added three digs and three block assists. Senior middle blocker Noelle Knutsen, the reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week, added 13 kills on the strength of a stellar .353 attacking accuracy, while adding three digs and three block assists. Kluner and senior outside hitter Maya Learmonth each notched 11 kills apiece and combined for nine digs.

Sophomore Jaelyn Grimm chipped in eight kills, three assists and seven digs. Roy dished out 51 assists for the second straight outing and notched her second double-double of the campaign by adding 11 digs. She also came up with a pair of block assists and four kills. DeVaux recorded a match-high 21 digs, with junior Lindsay McCurley and freshman Hannah Neff each posting nine digs apiece.

Emilee Harris led the Wolves with 12 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Tierra White, the 2019 South Region Freshman of the Year, chipped in six kills on a -.036 hitting percentage.

Match #2
Anderson 3, Rollins 0
(25-17, 25-20, 25-12)
Kluner led the Trojans with 11 kills in the nightcap, while posting a .346 hitting percentage. Duty stayed hot, as well, by recording eight kills behind a scorching .533 attack percentage and added three block assists. Grimm recorded seven kills on a .467 hitting percentage and chipped in three block assists, with Learmonth tallying seven kills, as well.

Roy handed out 36 assists and recorded six digs, with DeVaux sharingmatch-high honors with 16 digs. McCurley and Alexandra Petrilli added 11 digs and eight digs, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1 vs. West Georgia
First Set
AU notched a .314 hitting percentage in the opening set, with six Trojans posting at least two kills apiece in the win.

The Black and Gold pushed out to a 14-5 lead behind Grimm's serves and never looked back. Kluner notched three kills, with Duty and Knutsen each helping fuel the early surge. AU later claimed a double-digit, 19-9, advantage on a kill by Duty and led by at least nine the rest of the way.

Second Set
Duty and Knutsen combined for nine kills in the second frame to propel AU to the four-point win.

The Trojans fell behind, 5-1, early and still trailed by five (13-8) before reeling off a decisive 15-5 scoring outburst to take a lead they would not surrender.

Third Set
Duty and Knutsen combined for 10 kills, but it wasn't enough to keep the Wolves at bay, as West Georgia trailed just one early but claimed an early 6-3 edge and didn't trail the rest of the way.

AU closed within 23-20 on a kill from Duty, but the Trojans were unable to get any closer in the waning moments.

Fourth Set
Kluner and Learmonth paced AU with a combined eight kills, with the Trojans snapping an early 4-4 deadlock and leading the rest of the way.

Kluner and Knutsen helped fuel the breakout, with the Trojans steadily building a 21-12 advantage on an error by the Wolves.

Match 2 vs. Rollins
First Set
The Trojans again opened hot – posting a .378 hitting percentage in the opening frame.

Duty posted her second kill of the set to break an 11-11 tie and AU held the lead through the remainder of the set, while building a late cushion and taking the eight-point win.

Second Set
AU grabbed an early lead and held off the Tars by gradually four-point (15-11) edge.

Rollins climbed within just one, at 21-20, but the Trojans took advantage of a serve error by Rollins and an ace from Roy to claim late momentum.

Third Set
As hot as the Trojans were in the first set, they were even hotter in the closing frame – posting a .452 hitting accuracy. Grimm led AU with four kills in the decisive set, while Duty added three.

Leading by just three (12-9), a block assist from Roy and Kluner ignited a run by AU that saw the Trojans close out the set on a 13-3 scoring outburst, including the final seven points.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans posted a season-high .349 hitting percentage in the nightcap, including a .452 attacking accuracy in the third set.

NOTABLES
• Junior setter Madison Roy has two double-doubles on the season and has handed out a season-high 51 assists twice – one shy of her career-best 52.
• Sophomore Sadie Kluner has posted double-figure kills in four straight matches, reaching her career-best with 11 kills in the each of the last three contests.
• Meghan DeVaux has reached double-figure digs in two straight matches and three overall.
• Maya Learmonth has tallied double-figure kills in four of the last five matches.
• Regan Duty has reached double-digit kills in four matches and is hitting .314 on the season.
• The matchup with West Georgia marked the first meeting since 2016.
• The Trojans and West Georgia have now met just four times, with the all-time series knotted at two wins apiece.
• The Trojans and Tars were meeting for the first time since the 2000 campaign. The overall series is now deadlocked at 1-1.

UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the court Saturday, when the Trojans square off against Mary at 1 p.m. AU will wrap up the tourney by facing Florida Southern at 5 p.m.