ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson volleyball team overcame 34 errors to rally past Lenoir-Rhyne, 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 9-25, 25-23, 15-9) in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson (12-11, 11-6 SAC) won its second straight contest and has claimed victories in three of its last four matches, while Lenoir-Rhyne (13-8, 10-7 SAC) suffered its third consecutive setback.

"It was an interesting match," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "We came out strong but did not play very well in the second and third sets. We committed fewer errors (in the last two sets) and played much better. Our focus in practice this week will be cutting down on our errors and staying mentally in the game. Shannon (Gillespie) came alive in the fourth set and really sparked us. Alix's 31 digs certainly helped and Meghan (Cautero) did a solid job of putting the ball in the right place for our attackers."

With five conference contests remaining in the regular season, the Trojans have moved into a tie for third place in the SAC standings, along with Lincoln Memorial. Both squads sit one game behind second-place Tusculum.

The opening set featured 10 ties but just four lead changes, with Lenoir-Rhyne taking a three-point advantage twice, before AU battled back on the strength of five unanswered points to take a 16-14 lead. The Trojans took advantage of a pair of miscues by the Bears, while junior Shannon Gillespie and freshman Jessica Harris fueled the run with two kills and a block assist. Neither team was able to build more than a three-point lead until the final moments, when the Trojans took a 24-20 edge and claimed the set victory on an L-R error.

With the score knotted at seven apiece in the second set, Lenoir-Rhyne scored seven unanswered points as part of a larger 14-4 outburst to take a 15-7 lead and built a double-digit, 21-11, cushion on a kill by sophomore Morgan Bunker. The Bears maintained the advantage and Bunker closed the set with a kill.

With junior Nkaujshua Lo and sophomore Ashley Wells serving, Lenoir-Rhyne carried the momentum into the third set and raced out to an 8-1 lead, with the Trojans unable to recover. The Bears pushed out to an insurmountable 16-5 lead and took advantage of AU miscues to lead by as many as 16 in the final moments.

The fourth frame saw 14 ties and just three lead changes, as Anderson used a 6-1 surge to push out to a 13-8 lead. L-R committed three errors, while Gillespie and freshman Tinsley Hallman each contributed a kill during the run. But Lenoir-Rhyne chipped away and knotted the score for the seventh time, at 14-14, but the Bears were unable to completely overtake AU, as the Trojans held off the L-R challenges. With the score even at 23-23, Gillespie and Hallman knocked down back-to-back kills to secure the win.

The Trojans led from wire-to-wire in the fifth and final set, as AU pushed out to a four-point lead on three occasions before closing the set with a 4-2 run.

Gillespie led all players with 22 kills and added 19 digs for her 17th double-double of the season. Freshman Priscilla Irizarry notched her second double-double of the season with 13 kills and 11 digs, while junior Hailey Pittman recorded her fifth-straight double-figure performance with 10 kills. Junior Meghan Cautero dished out 46 assists and tallied 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the campaign. Alix Hooker came up with a match-high 31 digs, while Kelley Lacey chipped in 10 digs.

The Trojans will look to continue building momentum when they open a three-match conference road swing at Mars Hill on Friday. First-serve versus the Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m.