LAKELAND, Fla. – The Anderson volleyball team opened the 2025 season at the Jet's Pizza FSC Volleyball Classic on Friday with two five-set losses to RV Hillsdale College (16-25, 25-11, 25-21, 20-25, 12-15) and host school Florida Southern (24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 11-15). The Trojans showed promise for the season ahead with exciting performances from returners and newcomers throughout the ten sets.
"Tough losses but we learned a lot," head coach Todd Hay said. "Our focus needs to be on execution in crunch time. We failed to do that late in sets four and five in both matches and it cost us. Tomorrow is a new day and we will keep pressing on. Glad we are getting tough competition early."
Game one was a game of runs that ultimately the Hillsdale Chargers gained control of. The new Trojan lineup struggled to gain offensive momentum, swinging .153 to Hillsdale's .224.
Three Trojans hit in double digits as Emily Campbell (Statesville, N.C.) and Ava Reeves (Lexington, S.C.) had 13 each while freshman Mikaylah Hedlund (Fountain Inn, S.C.) opened her collegiate career with 11 kills. Campbell had a .346 hitting percentage and added six blocks. Freshman Symone Wyatt (Simpsonville, S.C.) also had a successful opening match with nine kills.
On defense, freshman Jamie Juhnevicz (Taylors, S.C.) earned the start at libero and recorded 23 digs. Reeves added 18 digs while setter Ellie Nieporte (Boca Raton, Fla.) dished out 44 assists with eight digs.
The entire match saw 23 tie scores and 13 lead changes, with eight ties in the first set and 10 in the third. The Trojans saw their best hitting performance in the third set with a .277 hitting percentage on 17 kills. Campbell came alive in the third set with seven kills on a .462 hitting percentage.
It was Wyatt's turn in match two of the day that saw the Trojans go another five sets but fall 3-2 to host team Florida Southern. The freshman came up with a massive 18 kills on a .296 hitting percentage. She added one block and six digs.
Sophomore Mia Elder (Leland, N.C.) had an efficient performance against the Mocs with a career-high 12 kills on a .296 hitting percentage. She added two blocks.
Hedlund topped her performance from earlier in the day with 12 kills and 19 digs.
The Trojans hit .144 percent as a team but improved on the day, swinging .286 in the fifth set. They switched to a 6-2 formation from a 5-1 earlier in the day, bringing in sophomore Mia Bennett (Boiling Springs, S.C.) as the second setter. She came up with 18 assists while Nieporte had 31.
The Trojans will look to bounce back tomorrow when they take on Saint Leo University at 2:30 p.m. in their final game of the weekend.
