ANDERSON, S.C. - Paced by three players in double figures, second-seeded Carson-Newman advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Championship by defeating No. 7 seed Anderson in five sets, 25-19, 22-25, 23-25, 31-29 and 15-13, Friday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

Led by sophomore Marissa Mitter's career high 29 kills, Anderson's bid to eliminate the higher-seeded Lady Eagles from the tournament for the second straight year, fell just short as the Trojans end their season with an 11-18 record. Carson-Newman improved to 26-6 with its third win of the season over the Trojans.

With the victory, the Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinals of the tourney and will face the winner of the third-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne versus No. 6 seed Queens, Saturday at 4 p.m.

Mitter's kill tally equaled former league standout Carly Mozgai for the most kills in a SAC Tournament match and marked the eighth-highest in a SAC match all-time. She added 15 digs for a double-double, while fellow AU sophomore Serena Jackson added 11 kills. Junior Priscilla Irizarry posted a double-double with 52 assists and 17 digs, while classmate Tinsley Hallman chipped in a match-high 29 digs. The freshman duo of Emily Conard and Megan Embry each posted 19 digs apiece.

First-Team All-Conference honoree Molly Locke led the Carson-Newman attack with 25 kills and 27 digs, with fellow First-Team All-Conference member Maddie Borch tallying 17 kills. SAC Freshman of the Year Natalie Harris added 15 kills. Sophomore setter Anna Patton dished out a match-high 61 assists, with Taylor Lowe and Megan Morris recording 20 assists and 12 assists, respectively.

Anderson scored the first point of the opening set, with the Lady Eagles countering by scoring three straight points to take a brief lead. The Trojans then posted three unanswered points of their own to take a 4-3 edge before the Lady Eagles responded with the first of two scoring outbursts. C-N snapped a 4-4 deadlock with five consecutive points to force an AU timeout, but the pause barely slowed the Eagles, as they steadily built a 15-8 advantage. The Trojans battled back within 18-16 when Allison Gaminde and Jessica Harris combined on a block, but AU would get no closer, as Carson-Newman closed out the frame on a 6-2 run.

The Trojans never trailed after opening the second set by posting three unanswered points, and after the two teams traded scores, C-N rattled off three straight of its own to even the score at 4-4. Anderson posted back-to-back points on an error by the Eagles and a block by Jessica Harris and Priscilla Irizarry to reclaim a 6-4 advantage. The frame featured 11 more ties before the Trojans pushed out to a 19-17 lead on a kill by Mitter and a block by Hallman and boosted the edge to three on another kill by Mitter. Jackson's fourth kill of the match later gave AU a 22-18 lead before taking the three-point win.

After trailing early in the third set, the Trojans snapped a five-all tie with five consecutive points to double up Carson-Newman before the Lady Eagles responded with a 4-2 run to force an AU timeout with the score at 12-9 in favor of AU. But the C-N rally continued, as the Eagles evened the score for the fifth time, at 13-13 on a kill by Molly Locke. After the Trojans opened a 17-15 edge, AU held off the Lady Eagles down the stretch.

The Trojans opened a 10-6 lead in the fourth set only to see Carson-Newman answer with a 6-1 outburst to take its second lead of the frame at 12-11 and later snapped a 16-16 deadlock with back-to-back points. Anderson responded by evening the score for the 10th time at 18 apiece before the Lady Eagles countered again with two straight, only to see the Trojans balance the score at 20-20. With the score knotted eight additional times, the Lady Eagles prevailed by outlasting Anderson, 31-29.

Carson-Newman snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth set with a 4-1 surge that gave the Lady Eagles a lead they would not relinquish, as C-N opened a pair of four-point leads before taking a 12-7 advantage. The Trojans then rallied behind a 6-1 outburst to knot the score at 13 apiece before Carson-Newman claimed the narrow win.