CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Behind a .320 hitting percentage and with four players reaching double-figure kills, the Anderson University volleyball team opened a four-match road swing by blanking Queens, 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-18) in South Atlantic Conference play, Thursday night at Curry Arena.
"Tonight was a very complete match from start to finish," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "We weren't perfect but were able to correct errors and not string several together. It's tough to win on the road and we feel really good about this one."
With the victory Hay became one of just eight coaches (three active) in league history to reach the century mark at a single school in the conference. The fifth-year AU head coach is one of only three coaches in league history to earn at least 184 victories in the league.
Anderson (13-6, 8-3 SAC) has won five of its last six decisions, seven of its last nine and nine of its last 12 outings, while handing the Royals just their third home loss of the season. Queens fell to 11-9 overall and 6-5 in the conference with its second straight setback.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior Regan Duty led all players with 13 kills, while committing just one error in 23 swings for an impressive .522 attacking accuracy. Sophomore Jaelyn Grimm added 12 kills behind a .500 hitting percentage, with classmate Sadie Kluner notching 11 kills on the strength of a .381 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Noelle Knutsen tallied 10 kills while hitting .321.
Junior Madison Roy dished out 47 assists and came up with five digs, while senior Meghan DeVaux recorded a match-best 21 digs. Freshman hitter Hannah Neff chipped in nine digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Kluner, Duty and Grimm combined for 13 kills in the opening frame and despite getting outhit, .333/.286, the Trojans were able to squeeze out the win after surviving a late charge by the Royals.
The set was tied eight times in the early going, with AU's late five-point lead marking the largest lead by either team.
McCurley ripped an ace to snap the final deadlock of the frame (9-9) and the Trojans would not trail again, with AU pushing out to a 20-15 advantage in an attack error by the Royals. Queens responded with a 5-1 surge to climb within just one, but were unable to catch the Black and Gold, with Grimm and Duty providing late heroics by knocking down two kills apiece down the stretch to stave off the Royals.
Second Set
The Trojans notched a .452 attacking percentage in the second frame, while holding Queens to a .158 accuracy, with Duty and Knutsen providing the offensive firepower.
AU built an early 6-2 lead and never looked back, with the Trojans holding at least a two-point advantage the rest of the way and leading by as many as eight late in the frame.
Third Set
AU's hitting accuracy dipped to .265 in the final frame, but the Royals hit just .073 in the decisive set, while Grimm erupted for six kills.
The Trojans trailed by as many as four (9-5) early, but took command of the frame by exploding with an impressive 12-2 scoring run on the road. AU began the rally with Roy serving and the Trojans capitalized on kills from Grimm, Duty and Learmonth along with attack errors by the Royals to turn the four-point deficit into a six-point lead.
AU claimed the first of three eight-point leads (20-12) on a kill from Kluner before settling for the seven-point win.
ANDERSON STATS OF THE NIGHT
• Duty's .522 hitting percentage was the second-highest by a Trojan this season – the Inman native posted a .579 hitting percentage in the win at Limestone.
NOTABLES
• The win marked AU Head Coach Todd Hay's 100th career victory at the helm of the Anderson volleyball program – he now owns 184 career victories as a head coach in the South Atlantic Conference and is one of only three coaches in league history to reach that mark - and one of just eight coaches (three active) in league history to reach the century mark at a single school in the conference.
• AU has won two straight at the Levine center.
• The Trojans are now 29-15 all-time vs. Queens and have won 26 of the last 34 meetings.
• Duty has knocked down double-digit kills 10 times this season, including a career-high 20 against Mars Hill in late September.
• Knutsen has recorded double-figure kills seven times this season.
• Kluner has tallied double-digit kills nine times, including a career-best 13 against both Tusculum and Mars Hill.
• Grimm notched a career-best 17 kills in last Friday's five-set win over the Railsplitters and has reached double-digit kills on seven occasions this season.
• Madison Roy has dished out at least 40 assists on 12 occasions, while reaching the 50+ assist plateau six times this season. She set a career-high with 53 assists in back-to-back contests against Newberry and Mars Hill and has posted eight double-doubles this season.
• Senior Meghan DeVaux has come up with double-digit 14 times this year, including three straight contests.
• Junior Lindsay McCurley has posted double-figure digs 10 this season, including three of the last four matches.
• Freshman Hannah Neff paces AU with 27 service aces on the year and nearly recorded her sixth match with double-digit digs.
UP NEXT
The Trojans are scheduled to visit Catawba, Saturday afternoon with first-serve set for 4 p.m.
