ANDERSON, S.C. - Using a balanced offensive attack, the Anderson University volleyball team wrapped up its four-match homestand with a five-set 3-2 (25-18, 25-20, 16-25, 14-25, 15-12) win past Lenoir-Rhyne, in South Atlantic Conference action Tuesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

"I thought the team came out very strong tonight and it showed in sets one and two," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "In set three, we did not play as well and Lenoir Rhyne played tremendous defense. However, in set five the team rallied and made a tremendous defensive effort to get the win. They showed a lot of character tonight in this win."

Anderson (15-5, 8-4 SAC) has won two straight matches and three of its last four, while earning a sweep of the season series with Lenoir-Rhyne (13-6, 7-5 SAC), which dropped its fourth straight decision to the Trojans.

Senior Hailey Pittman recorded her seventh straight double-figure kill match with a team-high 18 kills, while adding three blocks on the night. Newcomer Kendall Vallancourt tallied 10 kills, while senior outside hitter Shannon Gillespie nearly posted her third double-double of the season with nine kills and a season-high 29 digs. Sophomore Priscilla Irizarry notched her eighth double-double of the campaign by handing out 38 assists and coming up with 13 digs. Sophomore Tinsley Hallman garnered eight kills, five digs and a pair of service aces, while senior libero Alix Hooker posted her 14th straight double-figure dig contests with 39.

Senior outside hitter Haley Rhyne shared match-high kill honors with 18, while Ashley Wells added 11 kills and sophomore Brooke Redmond tallied 10 for L-R. Junior setter Briana Gottberg dished out a match-best 50 digs.

The Trojans never trailed in the opening set, doubling up Lenoir-Rhyne early, at 8-4, and built a nine-point cushion twice en route to the set victory. Pittman, Gillespie and Vallancourt combined to post an impressive .423 hitting percentage in the opening frame.

AU scored the first five points of the second set and never looked back, with Pittman knocking down seven of her kills in the set. The Trojans steadily built an eight-point advantage on three occasions before the Bears trimmed AU's lead to just four points late. But L-R would get no closer, as AU turned the Bears away each time to claim the set.

Lenoir-Rhyne turned the tables in the third set, taking advantage of early attack errors by the Trojans to gain a quick 5-1 lead. AU battled back within two, but the Bears countered by pushing out to a 14-6 lead and built a nine-point edge four times, including the final margin.

With the score knotted at three apiece in the fourth set, the Bears reeled off nine consecutive points to take control of the frame. AU later cut the deficit to six, but could get no closer as Lenoir-Rhyne took the win to force a fifth set.

The score was knotted twice early and twice late in the fifth frame, with the Trojans erasing an 8-5 Lenoir-Rhyne lead to even the score at 10 apiece. With the score even again at 11-11, Irizarry and Pittman combined on a block to give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. AU capitalized on back-to-back miscues by the Bears to take a 14-11 lead and Pittman followed a kill from Wells with one of her own to set the final score.

Anderson travels to Greeneville, Tenn. on Friday for a conference clash with Tusculum before visiting Mars Hill Saturday afternoon. First-serve versus TC is set for 7 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.