SALISBURY, N.C. - Using a .273 hitting percentage, the Anderson University volleyball team opened its brief two-match South Atlantic Conference road swing by blanking Catawba, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15) Friday night at Goodman Gym.

Anderson (12-3, 5-2 SAC) has won five of its last six matches and eight of its last 10 outings, while notching its 10th sweep of the season. Catawba fell to 3-10 on the season and 1-7 in the conference, as the Trojans defeated the Lady Indians for the fifth straight time.

Senior Hailey Pittman led all players with 15 kills on the strength of a match-best .500 hitting percentage for her eighth double-figure kill contest of the season. The 5-foot-11 middle blocker also added five blocks on the night, while fellow senior Shannon Gillespie reached double-figure kills for the sixth time, with 11 kills and added seven digs on the night. Freshman Kendall Vallancourt chipped in eight kills and three blocks, with senior libero Alix Hooker posting double-figure digs for a ninth straight outing with a match-high 19 digs. Sophomore Priscilla Irizarry dished out 23 assists, while freshman Tatianna Grodecky tallied 14 assists.

The Trojans jumped out to 10-4 lead in the first set as AU hit .500 in the early going, with Gillespie knocking down her first three attacks for kills. Irizarry and freshman Marissa Mitter capped the opening surge with back-to-back kills, forcing Catawba to take a timeout.

Anderson gained its largest lead of the frame, at 18-10, on an ace from Hooker, and still led 22-15, before the Lady Indians rallied with an 8-2 outburst to climb within 24-23 before Gillespie clinched the set victory with her eighth kill of the frame.

It was Catawba's turn to take an early advantage in the second set, racing out to a 4-1 edge before AU countered with a 5-1 run to take its first lead of the frame. Mitter later snapped an 8-8 deadlock with a kill to give the Trojans a lead they would not surrender.

Leading by just one, AU went on a 7-1 run to break open the set and claim an 18-11 advantage. The Lady Indians battled back within four, but would get no closer as the Trojans maintained the margin for the win.

With Mitter serving, AU gained a 6-1 advantage early in the final set, but Catawba stayed within striking distance and trimmed the Trojan lead to just two, at 11-9. But an 11-2 outburst by the Trojans turned the Lady Indians away and transformed the narrow advantage into a double-digit cushion. Mitter added a pair of service aces during the breakout, while Pittman notched three kills. Catawba would get no closer than nine the rest of the way, with AU garnering the final margin on a pair of errors by the Lady Indians.

Anderson wraps up the road swing Saturday afternoon at Queens. First-serve versus the Royals is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Curry Arena.