HARROGATE, Tenn. – With junior Maya Learmonth reaching double-figure kills for the fifth consecutive match and senior Regan Duty and freshman Sadie Kluner posting season-high kills, the Anderson volleyball team opened up its final regular-season road swing by knocking off Lincoln Memorial, 3-1 (28-30, 26-24, 25-13, 25-16) Friday night at Mary Mars Gymnasium.
"I am really proud of how Sadie and Caroline stepped up and played big roles when we needed it," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "And our blocking was key as the match went along."
Anderson (6-2, 6-2 SAC) ran its win streak to six straight, while Lincoln Memorial dropped to 3-6 and 3-6 with its fourth loss in five decisions.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Duty led all players with 16 kills and added eight block assists, while Learmonth added 15 kills and four digs. Kluner posted a season-high 10 kills, while junior Noelle Knutsen notched nine kills and eight block assists. Junior Neely Shugart tallied seven kills and six block assists. Junior setter Madison Roy equaled her career-high with 51 assists and added nine digs, while sophomore Alexandra Petrilli came up with a match-high 19 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Trojans hit just .039 in the opening set, but LMU was not much more accurate (.095), while Learmonth posted five of her kills in the opening frame.
AU snapped a 12-12 deadlock with six unanswered points to force an LMU timeout. Following the break, the Lady Railsplitters closed within 21-19 and eventually knotted the score at 22 apiece. The score was deadlocked six more times, but the Trojans would not lead again, with LMU pulling out the narrow win.
Second Set
Duty, Learmonth and Kluner combined for 14 of AU's kills in the second set, with the Trojans cutting their attack errors nearly in half.
The score was again tied at 12-12 before the Trojans pushed out to a 20-15 lead and held off a late surge by the Railsplitters .
Third Set
The Trojans posted an impressive .407 attack percentage in the third set, while making just two attack errors and notching four total blocks. AU bolted out to a commanding 14-3 advantage and never looked back, while cruising to the double-digit win.
Fourth Set
AU carried the momentum into the fourth frame and hit .302, with Duty leading the way with seven kills during the decisive set. The Inman native broke a 12-12 tie with a kill that sparked a 5-1 surge and with the Trojans holding a 17-13 lead, Knutsen knocked down a kill that fueled AU's final 8-3 run that clinched the match.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans' 15 total blocks equaled the third-highest tally in school history.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans have already clinched their ninth straight SAC Tournament appearance and are looking to finish among the top four teams in the league standings and host a quarterfinal contest on Tuesday night.
• LMU holds a 16-12 advantage in the overall series between the two schools, but AU has won three straight and seven of the last eight.
• Tabitha Wheeler has posted double-figure kills in every match but two this season and has notched four double-doubles in the last five matches.
• Maya Learmonth has reached double-figure kills in five consecutive contests.
• Regan Duty has recorded double-figure kills in five of the last six matches,
• Madison Roy has recorded double-doubles in four of the last six matches.
• Alexandra Petrilli has recorded nine aces in the last four matches.
• Petrilli has posted double-figure digs in six straight matches.
UP NEXT
Anderson will wrap up its regular-season slate at Carson-Newman, Saturday afternoon. First-serve at Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tenn., is scheduled for 3 p.m., with the winner earning the No. 2 seed in next week's SAC Championship.
