NEWBERRY, S.C. – Paced by the senior trio of Regan Duty, Maya Learmonth and Noelle Knutsen, the Anderson University volleyball team wrapped up its season-opening, 11-match road trip with a rousing five-set, 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-15, 23-25, 16-14) South Atlantic Conference win over Newberry, Wednesday night at Eleazer Arena.

"It was a great college volleyball match to be a part of tonight," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "Both teams showed a lot of heart and ran offense very well. Fortunately our service game was good down the stretch when it needed to be and helped us claw back into set five. Hopefully this match will be a character builder for us going forward. We are very excited to finally be home!"

Anderson (7-4, 2-1 SAC) has won three of its last four and five of its last seven decisions, while Newberry (6-4, 1-2 SAC) has dropped two of its last three outings.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Knutsen finished with a career-high 16 kills on a stellar .464 hitting percentage, while adding two solo blocks and a pair of block assists. Duty added 15 kills on the strength of a .452 attack accuracy, with Learmonth tallying 13 kills and five digs. Sophomore Jaelyn Grimm notched eight kills and six digs, while classmate Tabitha Wheeler added eight kills and five digs.

Junior setter Madison handed out a career-high 53 assists and narrowly missed her fifth double-double of the season after coming up with nine digs. The North Myrtle Beach native also chipped in three block assists.

Senior Meghan DeVaux recorded a team-high 17 digs, with freshman Hannah Neff garnering a season-high 10 digs. Junior Lindsay McCurley posted nine digs, while junior Alexandra Petrilli notched a match-high three service aces and four digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
With DeVaux serving, Knutsen snapped an 8-8 deadlock - the sixth tie of the set – with her third kill of the night and sparked a 5-1 surge by AU.

The Trojans never trailed again and pushed out to a five-point advantage (21-16) and held at least a three-point margin the rest of the way.

Second Set
Despite Newberry's red-hot .419 hitting percentage, the Trojans stayed close and never trailed by more than two until late in the frame.

The Wolves broke a 12-12 tie with three straight points and while AU stayed within striking distance, the Trojans were unable to draw even down the stretch.

Third Set
The Trojans flipped the tables in the third frame with a .367 hitting percentage and with Duty knocking down a team-high four kills, AU pushed out to a 13-8 lead and never looked back en route to the double-figure win.

Fourth Set
AU claimed an early 9-5 advantage and built a 15-9 lead, before Newberry used a 7-1 scoring run to knot the score for just the third time, at 16 apiece.

The score was then deadlocked at 17, 18, 19 and 20 with consecutive kills from Knutsen and Learmonth forcing a Newberry timeout. Coming out of the break, the Wolves posted three consecutive points, before Learmonth added her fourth kill of the frame. But the Wolves capitalized on a kill from Taylor Hall and a miscue by the Trojans to take the win.

Fifth Set
After scoring the first two points of the fifth set, the Trojans rallied from a three-point deficit twice and battled back to even the score at 10-10 on an ace from freshman Hannah Neff.

There were three more ties and three more lead changes before Newberry reached match point (14-13) on an ace from Katie Ullsperger and forced an AU timeout. Learmonth then knotted the score and gave the Trojans a 15-14 edge with back-to-back kills, with Duty clinching the win with her fourth kill of the set.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans equaled their third-highest tally of the season with eight service aces, including two in the first set and two in the decisive fifth frame.

NOTABLES
• The Trojans and Wolves have met 32 times over the past 22 seasons, with AU holding a 23-9 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 1999 campaign.
• The Trojans have won 15 of the last 17 matchups with the Wolves.
• Regan Duty has reached double-digit kills in six matches and has come within one of her career-high 16 kills three times.
• Behind her career-high 53 assists, Madison Roy has dished out at least 40 digs seven times this season and has notched four double-doubles.
• Maya Learmonth has reached double-figure kills six times.
• Noelle Knutsen has reached double-figure kills five times.
• Alexandra Petrill's three aces marked a season high.
• Jaelyn Grimm has averaged 9.7 kills per match over the last three contests.
• Meghan DeVaux has reached double-figure digs in eight matches this season.

UP NEXT
Anderson is scheduled to play host to Mars Hill, Saturday afternoon in the Trojans' home opener. First-serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Abney Center.