LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Featuring a balanced offensive attack, the Anderson University volleyball team opened the season by rallying to outpace Bellarmine, 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-23) on the opening day of the Bellarmine Volleyball Classic, Friday night at Knights Hall.

The season opener for both teams saw Anderson improve to 1-0, while Bellarmine dropped to 0-1.

The freshman duo of Kendall Vallancourt and Marissa Mitter paced the Trojans' attack, as they combined for 18 kills on the night. Vallancourt, a 6-foot freshman from Altamonte Springs, Fla., posted a match-high .429 attack percentage. Senior outside hitter Shannon Gillespie added six kills and 13 digs, while senior middle blocker Hailey Pittman chipped in seven kills and three digs. Redshirt sophomore Priscilla Irizarry posted a double-double, with 17 assists and 16 digs. Senior libero Alix Hooker added a team-high 22 digs, while sophomore Jessica Harris recorded 10 block assists on the night and freshman Tatianna Grodecky dished out 15 assists in her collegiate debut.

"This was a great first win for us here in Kentucky," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "Bellarmine is a very strong opponent. After an adjustment on defense we were able pick up some huge digs to win the next three sets. Marissa [Mitter] and Kendall [Vallancourt] had tremendous nights offensively. Alix [Hooker] led us on defense and our blocking as a whole was solid."

The opening set saw eight lead changes and 16 ties before the Knights snapped a 21-21 score with four unanswered points to claim the opening frame. Neither team was able to build more than a two-point lead throughout the set, with Anderson rallying from a 20-18 deficit to take its last lead, at 21-20.

After trailing early in the second set, the Trojans pushed out to their largest lead of the frame, at 18-13, by capitalizing on an attack error by the Knights and led again by five (20-15) on another Bellarmine miscue. But the Knights went on an 8-2 outburst to reclaim a brief 23-22 edge on a Trojan attack error.
After Vallancourt evened the score with a kill, the two teams traded ball-handling errors before Gillespie and Vallancourt knocked down back-to-back kills to give the Black and Gold the set victory.

AU trailed early in the third set, but a 10-3 surge gave the visitors a lead they would not relinquish, at 17-13. The Trojans pushed out to a 24-17 cushion on a kill from Harris and went on to claim the win on Irizarry's second kill of the set.

Clinging to a 13-12 lead in the fourth and final set, the Trojans gained a 20-16 edge on a block assist from Mitter and Harris and held off a late rally by the Knights, with Bellarmine committing back-to-back errors to close the match.

The Trojans square off against Salem International, which was blanked, 3-0, by Mercyhurst earlier Friday, at 10 a.m. on Saturday. AU will wrap up the Classic with a 5 p.m. match versus Mercyhurst.