ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson volleyball team fell to a dominant Wingate University side on Friday evening 3-1. The Trojans move to 14-9 overall and 10-5 in the South Atlantic Conference with the loss while the Bulldogs, who are receiving votes in the national poll, move to 20-2 and 11-1 in the SAC. 

Graduate student Libby Nieporte and sophomore Karley Black stepped up for the Trojans on offense. Nieporte put up a season-high 12 kills along with a game-high 17 digs and three blocks. Black came up with 12 kills of her own on a .310 hitting percentage. 

Wingate's swings were hard to stop and the Trojan defense struggled to respond in the first set. The Bulldogs had 18 kills and just two errors on a .516 hitting percentage in the first set. The Trojans had no blocks and just eight digs.

The Trojans came back for a 6-4 lead to start the second set with Nieporte leading the way with two kills and big plays on defense. Anderson battled it out with four lead changes and eight even scores but the Bulldogs regained control at the end and took it 25-20. 

Senior Brantley Chipley had no errors through the second set, leading the Trojans with six kills on a .462 hitting percentage. She finished with nine kills on a .400 hitting percentage and four blocks.

The Trojans tied it up at 10 in the third set and went on to take a 15-11 lead. They went on a 7-0 run to take a 18-11 lead. Back-to-back kills from Black at the end of the run gave the Trojans all the momentum to get the 25-23 win. Black came up with five kills and no errors in the third set.

The Bulldogs took control midway through the fourth set and the Trojans were unable to fight their way back, falling 25-22.

The Trojans are back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 6th when they take on Lenoir-Rhyne on the road at 7 p.m. Anderson pushed Lenoir-Rhyne to five sets earlier this season but couldn't top the Bears.