ANDERSON, S.C. – Using a season-high .375 hitting accuracy, the Anderson volleyball team made its home debut a success by sweeping Catawba, 3-0 (25-7, 25-17, 25-14), in the opening round of the Electric City Invitational, Thursday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

"I was a great way to start off the home stand with a conference win," said Anderson head coach Todd Hay. "Our team was fairly steady on serve receive and was able to put good pressure on Catawba with our serve game. As we all know, there are definite areas in which we need to improve but we'll take the win and learn how we can improve going forward. Thanks to all the fans who came out and supported the Trojans!"

Anderson (4-1, 1-0 SAC) won its second straight home opener and claimed its fifth home-opening victory in six seasons, while Catawba fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Outside hitter Liliana Kinder led all players with nine kills on the strength of a .421 attacking percentage. The senior from Ponte Vedra, Fla., committed just one error in 19 swings. Senior middle hitter Noelle Knutsen added seven kills, a pair of solo blocks and a block assist, with juniors Jaelyn Grimm, Rylie Sargent and Sadie Kluner each tallying five kills apiece. Grimm also recorded a pair of service aces on the night.

Senior Madison Roy handed out 17 assists, with junior Jenna Long dishing out 10 assists. Senior Alexandra Petrilli paced AU with 10 digs on the night, while classmate Lindsay McCurley chipped in six digs and Meg Sansbury added five.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
With McCurley and Grimm serving to open the match, the Trojans bolted out to a quick 9-1 lead in the first frame and never looked back.

AU capitalized on an attack error by the Indians to later open a double-digit, 15-5 advantage and the Indians were unable to get any closer than nine the rest of the way.

Second Set
Kluner snapped a 6-6 deadlock with her third kill of the night and ignited a 10-3 outburst by the Trojans, with the Black and Gold holding at least a six point through the rest of the frame.

Third Set
As hot as AU was in the first two sets, the Trojans were even hotter in the final set, as they posted a .435 attacking percentage.

With the Trojans holding an early 5-4 edge, they took advantage of a Catawba service error, a pair of aces – from Petrilli and Roy – and back-to-back kills from Grimm to go on a 12-3 scoring outburst and build a comfortable lead before finishing with the 11-point win.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE GAME
The Trojans' .375 hitting accuracy was the highest since posting a .382 hitting percentage in last season's home win over UVA Wise.

NOTABLES
• The Trojans and Indians have met 22 times in program history.
• AU holds a 17-5 advantage in the overall series with Catawba and has won 16 of the last 18 meetings, including nine straight.
• The Trojans are 51-7 (.879) at home over the past five-plus seasons.

UP NEXT
Anderson will get back in action with a pair of matches on Friday, with the Trojans scheduled to square off against Texas A&M International at 1:30 p.m., then wrap up the second day of the Electric City Invitational by playing host to Converse at 6 p.m.