ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson University volleyball team opened its final two-match homestand of the season by recording its second-highest hitting percentage of the year en route to sweeping Catawba, 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-20) in South Atlantic Conference action, Friday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

"I thought we played a good match tonight," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "We played very consistent and our offense was very solid as we hit .409 as a team. The first set we struggled with Catawba because their ball control was almost perfect. And sets two and three we changed up our serving a little bit and they struggled. When Catawba is in system, they are a very good team as they have some very good hitters."

Anderson (20-6, 13-5 SAC) maintained its hold on third place in the conference standings with its seventh win in the last eight outings and swept the season series with Catawba. The Trojans have reached the 20-win plateau for the ninth time in school history and the first time since the 2009 season, while Catawba (6-19, 4-15 SAC) suffered its third straight setback.

Freshman Kendall Vallancourt led all players with a career-high 12 kills on the strength of a career-best .476 hitting percentage. The native of Altamonte Springs, Fla. added three service aces and a pair of block assists. Senior outside hitter Shannon Gillespie recorded 11 kills and four digs, with senior middle blocker Hailey Pittman knocking down seven kills and recording four digs. Sophomore Priscilla Irizarry handed out a match-high 31 assists, while knocking down four kills and coming up with eight digs. Sophomores Jessica Harris and Tinsley Hallman each registered four kills, with Harris chipping in three block assists.

The opening set featured 17 ties, and while the lead changed hands only four times, neither team was able to build more than a three-point advantage throughout the frame. With the score knotted for the 14th time at 16 apiece, Pittman recorded a kill, while Hallman followed with a kill and Vallancourt added an ace to give AU its first three-point lead. But following a Catawba timeout, the Indians responded with three consecutive points to even the score again. But the visitors were unable to overtake AU, as the Trojans scored three of the next four points to gain a 22-20 edge. However, the Indians countered with back-to-back points before the Trojans capitalized on a pair of Catawba errors and a kill by Harris to secure the set.

With the Indians leading the second set, 6-4, the Trojans reeled off 17 unanswered points to turn the two-point deficit into a 15-point cushion. Vallancourt posted five kills and a block assist during the outburst and AU took advantage of six miscues by the Indians to break open the set. Catawba pulled within 10 on two occasions, but were unable to trim the AU lead to single digits the rest of the way.

The Trojans snapped an early 2-2 deadlock in the third set with four consecutive points, only to see Catawba counter with two straight points. Following an error by the Indians, Harris and Vallancourt combined on a block and Vallancourt added a kill to give AU a 9-4 edge. While Catawba chipped away with a 7-2 run to even the score at 11 apiece, the Trojans refused to surrender the lead again, answering with three straight points and building a late 23-16 lead before claiming the four-point set victory.

"I am very excited about celebrating Senior Day tomorrow with our seniors," added Mosqueda. "They have been very instrumental in this team's success. We will have to make sure we start a little faster against Queens, as they are a very athletic team."

Anderson will get back on the court Saturday, when the Trojans host Queens University on Senior Day. First-serve versus the Royals is slated for 2 p.m. at the Abney Center.