NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Anderson University volleyball team opened its final three-match road swing of the regular season by topping in-state rival Newberry, 3-2 (25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 18-25, 15-13) Tuesday night at Eleazer Arena.

Anderson (22-6, 15-5 SAC) overcame 26 miscues and its' third-lowest hitting percentage of the season to subdue Newberry, which slipped to 14-14 overall and 8-12 in the conference.

The victory marked AU's fourth straight win and its ninth in the last 10 outings, as the Trojans swept the regular season series with the Wolves for the second straight year.

"The team showed great resolve tonight and pulled off the win," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "Newberry played great tonight, so hats off to them."

Senior outside hitter Shannon Gillespie notched her seventh double-double of the season with her match-high 23 kills and 18 digs. Senior middle blocker Hailey Pittman added nine kills, while freshman Kendall Vallancourt added eight kills. Sophomore Priscilla Irizarry recorded her 13th double-double of the campaign by handing out 45 assists and coming up with a season-best 21 digs. Senior defensive specialist Alix Hooker tallied 18 digs, with sophomore Taylor Underwood adding 13 and senior Kelley Lacey chipping in 12. Sophomore Jessica Harris added five block assists in the win.

Sophomore outside hitter Logan Hayward led the Wolves with 18 kills, while Lauren Pracher recorded a match-high 35 digs and Ashley Minor paced Newberry with 32 assists.

The Trojans used a .400 hitting percentage in the early going of the opening set and jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead, but the home-standing Wolves chipped into AU's advantage, trimming it to 11-9 before a kill from Vallancourt slowed the rally. Anderson steadily rebuilt the advantage, taking its largest lead of the frame, at 21-14, on a miscue by the Wolves. Newberry climbed within 22-18 before Gillespie answered with a kill and the Trojans went on to the five-point win.

The second frame featured just four ties and two lead changes, with Newberry scoring the first three points of the set. AU battled back to even the score for the first time at 7-7 on an error by the Wolves and took its first lead at 8-7 on kill by Gillespie. But the advantage was short-lived, as Newberry regained the lead and held a narrow advantage until another kill from Gillespie evened the score at 22 apiece. Pittman followed with a service ace to give the Trojans just their second lead of the set, at 23-22, and following another error and a kill by the Wolves, Gillespie sealed the win with her 14th kill of the night.

AU garnered a 9-5 lead in the third set, but the Wolves countered with an 8-2 run to turn the four-point Trojan lead into a two-point Newberry advantage. The Wolves steadily built the lead and maintained the advantage behind a .375 hitting percentage for the set.

Newberry snapped an 8-8 deadlock in the fourth set with a 10-2 outburst and the Trojans were unable to recover from the eight-point deficit. Freshman Mallory McFerron posted a pair of service aces, as AU answered with three straight points to get as close as 18-13, but NC countered with two straight points and held the advantage to claim the victory.

The Trojans gained a quick 6-2 advantage in the final set and never trailed, but Newberry trimmed the AU lead to just 7-5, before Gillespie and freshman Marissa Mitter recorded back-to-back kills to rebuild the cushion to four points. Trailing by five, the Wolves rallied to knot the score at 11-11 on the strength of a 6-1 run. Mitter's second kill of the set gave AU the lead once again, with her third kill of the frame boosting the Trojan lead to 13-11. A pair of errors nearly proved costly for the Trojans, as Newberry pulled even at 13 apiece, but Mitter again answered with a kill and Gillespie finished the match with a kill.

Anderson will get back in action Friday, when the Trojans visit Carson-Newman. First-serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tenn.