ANDERSON, S.C. – Paced by senior outside hitter Marissa Mitter's match-high 14 kills, the Anderson volleyball team outpaced Coker, 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-22) in South Atlantic Conference action, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson improved to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while equaling its longest win streak of the season with its fourth consecutive victory. The win marked AU's 14th consecutive win past the Cobras. Coker fell to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the league with its second loss in three outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Mitter added 16 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and posted four service aces, with senior middle blocker Rachel Burts recording eight kills and a pair of block assists. Fellow senior Serena Jackson notched seven kills and also had two block assists. Sophomore setter Emily Conlin dished out 31 assists and came up with 13 digs – just one shy of her season high. Junior libero Emily Conard tallied nine digs, while junior libero Megan Embry and junior outside hitter Jayln Knight each posted eight digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
After falling behind by three early, the Trojans posted seven unanswered points to double up the Cobras, at 8-4. AU took advantage of Mitter's serves and five Cobra miscues to fuel the run, which forced a Coker timeout.
The Cobras pulled within three immediately following the break, but they would get no closer, as the Trojans pulled away and built a double-digit, 22-12, cushion late in the set. Mitter posted two of her aces during the late surge with sophomore Kathryn Hughes and Burts providing the final two points of the frame.
Second Set
The second set was tied just twice, with the Trojans snapping an early 2-2 deadlock by exploding on a 19-3 scoring run behind five kills from Mitter and with Conard notching a pair of aces.
The Cobras would get no close than 13 over the final moments, with freshman Kaitlyn Grube getting AU to set point with her first kill of the afternoon and AU capitalizing on a service error by Coker to take the decisive win.
Third Set
After trailing by as many as four on two occasions, a late rally propelled the Black and Gold to the three-point win.
After AU jumped out to a quick 3-1 advantage, the Cobras grabbed their first lead of the afternoon with three consecutive points. The Trojans rallied twice, knotting the score at 6-6 and seven apiece before Coker edged out to a 13-9 lead.
AU drew even at 14 apiece on a ball-handling error by the Cobras, but Coker answered with a 5-1 surge to claim a 19-15 advantage. Knight sparked the Trojans' final rally – a 10-3 run – that saw the junior from Redlands, Calif., chip in two more kills and a block assist during the rally.
NOTES
• The Trojans posted their third straight sweep and seventh sweep of the season.
• The Trojans have recorded 21 service aces in their last four matches.
• Conlin leads the conference in both assists and assists per set.
• Conlin is tied for second in the conference with 18 aces, while Conard and Mitter are tied for fourth with 16 aces on the season.
• The Trojans are second in the SAC with a .222 hitting percentage and second with 74 aces.
• Mitter needs five kills to become the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 kills.
• Former standout Shaunte' Heyward (2003-06) is 10th in the school record books with 1,041 career kills.
UP NEXT
Anderson hits the road for three straight matches beginning at Catawba, Tuesday night. First-serve in Salisbury, N.C. is slated for 7 p.m.
