ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson volleyball team closed its brief two-match homestand with a narrow 3-2 (20-25, 26-28, 25-21, 25-23, 18-20) five-set loss to second-place Tusculum in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

In a battle between the teams currently sitting in the second and third spots in league standings, the final count could not get much closer as Anderson (10-5, 4-3 SAC) suffered its first home setback of the 2010 campaign. With the win, Tusculum improved to 11-3 overall and 8-1 in league action.

The Pioneers, whose lone conference setback came at the hands of league-leading Wingate, took a 2-0 lead in the contest only to see the Trojans battle back to claim the next two sets and send the match to a fifth game.

Tusculum snapped a 7-7 tie in the first set and held the lead until AU climbed back to even the set at 19-19 on a kill by freshman Chelsea Olson, with the Trojans edging out to an advantage on a kill from senior outside hitter Jamie Lancaster, but the Pioneers rallied to claim the 25-20 win behind the strong serving of sophomore Bailee Price.

The Pioneers again grabbed the lead in the second frame, leading by as many as eight, at 18-10, before Anderson climbed back to knot the score at 21 apiece and pushed out to a 25-24 lead on an error by TC. Tusculum scored two straight points before AU again tied the contest at 26 before the Pioneers earned the win on back-to-back kills from Sam Underwood and Bailee Price.

Anderson jumped out to an early 10-4 lead in the third set behind the serving of Lancaster and held off a Tusculum rally that saw Tusculum trim the Trojans' advantage to 23-21 late, before Olson and Lancaster posted kills to close the set.

The Trojans evened the match with another strong effort, again with Lancaster serving to give AU an 11-6 lead. With Anderson leading 21-13, Tusculum went on a 10-3 run to pull within 24-23 but freshman Brooke Mann finished the win with a kill.

The fifth and deciding set was tied 12 times before Tusculum collected its fourth consecutive win.

Senior outside hitter Jamie Lancaster collected a team-high 15 kills for the Trojans, while freshman Tori Calhoon added 10. Freshman Haley Hoover recorded eight kills from her setter spot and handed out a team-high 27 assists. Sophomore Tiffany Rowe posted eight total blocks, just one shy of her season-high set just Friday night versus Mars Hill. Lancasrer and fellow senior Adria Mullaney each recorded 20 digs for the Trojans.

Tusculum held the edge in attack percentage with sophomore Alyssa Raterman recording a match-high 16 kills and recording an impressive .517 hitting percentage. Three other Pioneers reached double figures in kills, led by Sam Underwood's 14. TC freshman Ashley Sarmiento dished out a match-high 49 assists over the five sets, with rookie Caitlyn Dean coming up with 38 digs on the afternoon.

Anderson goes on the road for a three-match road swing, beginning with a non-conference contest at rival Erskine on Wednesday and followed by a two-match SAC swing at Catawba and Wingate. First-serve versus the Flying Fleet is slated for 7 p.m. in Due West.