ANDERSON, S.C. - The junior duo of Hailey Pittman and Shannon Gillespie led the Anderson volleyball team to a five-set 3-2 (13-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-17, 15-11) rally past Lincoln Memorial in South Atlantic Conference action Friday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

"It was a great win for the team tonight," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "The crowd was great and we really appreciated the fan support. We were consistent and able to grind it out. The difference tonight was good blocking and incredible defense. Hailey (Pittman) had a stellar night offensively and had some great blocks. Our ball handling was great all night long."

Anderson (2-5, 2-1 SAC) opened the brief conference homestand by earning their first win past LMU since claiming a 3-2 home win on Sept. 23, 2008 and snapped a nine-match skid at the hands of the Lady Railsplitters.

Lincoln Memorial slipped to 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the league with its third loss in the last four outings.

The Trojans scored the first point of the opening set and trailed just 8-7 before the Lady Railsplitters went on an 11-3 run midway through the frame to push out to a 19-10 advantage en route to claiming the first set.

But AU recovered in the second set and never trailed, as a kill by Pittman snapped an early 3-3 tie and the Trojans held the lead the rest of the way.

Anderson's momentum continued early into the third frame, with the Trojans reeling off the first seven points of the frame. The Black and Gold held an early 8-2 advantage and held a 21-16 edge before LMU went on a 9-3 spurt that gave the Lady Railsplitters their first edge of the set, at 25-24. LMU's Jazzy Oates capped the comeback with a kill to close the set, 26-24.

But the Trojans refused to surrender after falling behind early in the fourth set. With freshman Tinsley Hallman serving, AU scored four unanswered points to take a lead it would not relinquish at 6-2. The Trojans steadily built an eight-point lead and went on to claim the set victory.

Lincoln Memorial took a 6-4 edge in the fifth and deciding set, but the Trojans answered to knot the frame at six apiece. Anderson then capitalized on back-to-back errors by the Lady Railsplitters to snap a 10-10 deadlock and went on to claim the match on a Pittman kill and another LMU miscue.

Pittman tallied a career-high 24 kills on a season-best .408 attack percentage, while Gillespie also notched 24 kills and added 13 digs for her third double-double of the season. Junior Meghan Cautero was just one assist shy of a career-high after finishing with 54 assists. Junior Alix Hooker posted a team-best 22 digs, with Kelley Lacey adding 21 digs. Freshman Tinsley Hallman finished with 11 digs and five kills on the night. Pittman rounded out her effort with five block assists.

Oates, a sophomore, led Lincoln Memorial with 13 kills and three blocks on the night. Senior Kaitlin Walton added 11 kills and three digs while Kendra Gephart finished with eight kills and 15 digs. Brooke Fleeman and Rachel Jones recorded seven and five kills, respectively. Abby Cash led the Lady Railsplitters with 29 assists and Allison Beavers chipped in 15 assists to go along with seven digs. Casey Mense led all players in the match with 33 digs. Chelsea Ferron and Cash added 12 digs apiece.

Anderson will get back on the court Saturday afternoon, when the Trojans close out the brief conference homestand by playing host to Carson-Newman. First-serve versus the Eagles is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Abney Center.