SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – The Trojans' Noelle Knutsen, Maya Learmonth and Sadie Kluner combined for 36 kills against the nation's No.1 team, while sophomore Jaelyn Grimm posted a career-high in kills in the nightcap, but the Anderson University volleyball team dropped a pair of decisions, Saturday at the Angelo State Invitational at the Junell Center.

The Trojans fell to nationally top-ranked and host Angelo State in four sets, 3-1 (22-25, 16-25, 25-19, 24-26) earlier in the day, then dropped a 3-1(19-25, 25-19, 11-25, 23-25) decision to Texas A&M – Kingsville.

"We are learning a lot about what it takes to be a championship caliber team and how to play consistent volleyball," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "Whether it was two wins yesterday or two losses today, the process of striving for excellence is the same. Overall, I feel like we learned a lot and are trending in the right direction."

Anderson slipped to 2-2 overall, while top-ranked Angelo State remained undefeated at 3-0. Texas A&M - Kingsville improved to 4-0 with the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
First Match
No. 1 Angelo State 3, Anderson 1
(25-22, 25-16, 19-25, 26-24)
Knutsen equaled her career high with 14 kills on the strength of a .355 hitting percentage and added three block assists against the Rambelles, while Learmonth posted 12 kills. Kluner finished with 10 kills – one shy of her career-best. Setter Madison Roy recorded her first double-double of the young season by dishing out a match-high 44 assists and coming up with 10 digs. Alexandra Petrilli tallied a team-high 14 digs, with freshman Hannah Neff claiming nine digs.

ASU's Kailyn Gilbreath, the Preseason Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year, recorded 10 kills, 41 assists and three block assists, with teammate Delaney Fuller leading all players with 15 kills.

Second Match
Texas A&M – Kingsville 3, Anderson 1
(19-25, 25-19, 11-25, 23-25)
Senior Regan Duty, who posted a .400 hitting percentage, shared match-high honors with 13 kills, alongside Learmonth, who also knocked down 13 kills. Duty also added a pair of block assists. Kluner equaled her career-high with 11 kills and Grimm notched a career-best 10 kills behind a .588 hitting percentage. The Cedar Park, Texas, native did not commit an error in 17 attempts.

Knutsen added eight kills and a pair of blocks, while Roy dished out 51 assists – just one below her career-high – and recorded six digs. McCurley and Petrilli came up with 14 digs and 12 digs, respectively.

Kailey Estrada led the Javelinas with 13 kills, while middle blocker Ayanna Jackson, the LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, added 12 kills. Emily Witt, the Preseason LSC Setter of the Year, handed out 38 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1
First Set
Anderson struck early – using an ace from sophomore Jaelyn Grimm and capitalizing on a pair of ASU errors to grab an early 4-1 edge before the Rambelles posted three consecutive points to knot the score for the first of four times during the set.

Moments later, the Trojans committed three straight miscues that enabled Angelo State to snap a 7-7 deadlock as part of a 7-2 surge by the 'Belles that forced an AU timeout. Coming out of the break, the Trojans reeled off a 5-1 run of their own with Kluner's first kill sparking the surge and Knutsen and Learmonth posting blocks to keep AU within striking distance.

Learmonth's first kill pulled AU within 15-14, but the Trojans were unable to get any closer, as the defending national champions countered with three straight points to re-open a four-point lead. Angelo State pushed out to a seemingly comfortable, 24-16, cushion before surviving a late Trojan rally with AU holding off set point six times with a half-dozen straight points before succumbing in the two-point loss.

Second Set
The second set saw six early ties, before ASU rattled off a 9-2 scoring outburst to claim a 15-8 advantage. Kluner's second kill of the afternoon momentarily slowed the Rambelles, but their lead hovered between six and eight points before they built a double-digit, 21-11, lead and went on to the nine-point win.

Third Set
With Knutsen providing the firepower (eight kills) on a .615 hitting percentage, the Trojans bounced back to take some of the momentum away from Angelo State with a six-point victory.

Knutsen and Kluner knocked down back-to-back kills to break a 4-4 deadlock and the Trojans would not trail again. AU pushed out to a 9-4 lead to force an ASU timeout but consecutive kills moments later by Learmonth built AU's lead to 12-5.

Behind Kluner's eighth kill of the day and an error by the Rambelles, the Trojans claimed their largest lead, at 20-11, then held off a late rally by ASU to earn the win.

Fourth Set
The final frame featured just four lead changes but saw 15 ties, with neither team able to build more than a four-point lead.

After falling behind, 10-6, kills by senior Neely Shugart, Learmonth and Duty, combined with a pair of ASU miscues, fueled a 6-1 rally by the Trojans and got them back into the match. The score was deadlocked ten more times before the 'Belles squeezed out the narrow win on back-to-back kills from Gilbreath.

Match 2
SUMMARY
First Set
The Trojans hit .419 in the opening frame, but Texas A&M – Kingsville was even hotter, as the Javelinas posted a .484 hitting accuracy.

With the score tied for the eighth time – at 11 apiece - A&M went on an 8-3 run to take a lead it would not surrender. The Trojans closed to within three (19-16) on a kill from Grimm, but it was as close as AU would get, as the Javelinas closed out the set with a 6-3 surge.

Second Set
AU cooled off a little but still notched a .395 hitting percentage, while holding the Javelinas to a .125 accuracy. The Trojans also doubled up A&M 18-9 in kills during the second frame.

Learmonth broke a 4-4 deadlock with a kill that ignited a 9-3 run by the Trojans, with AU maintaining at least a five-point advantage through the rest of the set.

Third Set
A&M jumped out to a 12-3 lead and the Trojans were unable to recover. AU trimmed the deficit to single digits, at 18-9, but the Javelinas continued to build their advantage through the remainder of the set.

Fourth Set
With the Trojans holding an early 7-5 lead, A&M scored five unanswered points to force an AU timeout.

The Javelinas gradually pushed out to their largest lead, at 16-11, before the Trojans chipped away and pulled within one (17-16) on Kluner's 10th kill of the match. AU stayed close and knotted the score at 20-20 on a ball-handling error, but was unable to wrestle the lead away, with Texas A&M – Kingsville holding on for the two-point win.

STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans posted 109 kills on the day (13.62/set), while Angelo State and A&M-Kingsville both combined for exactly the same number of kills (109).

NOTABLES
• Saturday's contests marked the first-ever meetings between the teams.
• Angelo State is the defending national champion and the top choice to repeat as Lone Star Conference Champions.
• Texas A&M - Kingsville was tabbed to finish third in the LSC Preseason Poll.
• The four-set match against Angelo State featured 28 tie scores, including 15 in the fourth set.
• Jaelyn Grimm posted a career-high 10 kills against the Javelinas.
• Sadie Kluner reached double-figure kills in both matches on Saturday.
• Madison Roy handed out 40+ assists in three straight matches.
• Alexandra Petrilli has reached double-figure digs in all four contests.
• Maya Learmonth has tallied double-figure kills in three straight matches.
• Regan Duty has posted double-figure kills in three of the four matches.

UP NEXT
Following a five-day layoff, Anderson is scheduled to get back in action at the Rollins College Invitational. The Trojans are slated to meet West Georgia and the host Tars on Friday and will wrap up their visit to central Florida by squaring off against Mary from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for the first time in program history and Florida Southern for just the second time on Saturday.