Rock Hill, SC - Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson went the distance in Thursday's SAC semi-final, with the Bears eventually coming out on top 3-2. After falling to Anderson in their final home match of the regular season, the Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball team returned the favor for their second victory against the Trojans this season. Freshman
Brooke Aeschliman set a a new career high with 14 kills and four total blocks in the victory.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Anderson 0 (25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-10)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (25-5, 14-4 SAC), Anderson (19-10, 13-5 SAC)
Location: Rock Hill Sports and Events Center | Rock Hill, SC
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Anderson used three service aces to quickly go up 6-0 in the opening set.
- The Bears went on seven point run halfway through the set to take a 14-10 lead.
- Lenoir-Rhyne produced 10 kills off 27 total attacks in the opening and scored the final three points to win 25-20.
- After falling 25-21 in set two, the Bears generated a match-high 19 kills with a .286 hitting % in the third set to come away with a 25-22 victory.
- Tied at 2-2, Lenoir-Rhyne took five of the first six points of the fifth set, helped in part by service aces from Hadley Prince and Brooke Aeschliman
- Back-to-back kills from Kathy Peter and Brooke Aeschliman sealed the victory for the Bears in the fifth set.
- Brooke Aeschliman led the Bears with 14 kills, followed by 12 from Averie Dale and Kathy Peter with 12 kills each.
- Rachel Wildermuth and Ella Scott combined for 54 assists in the match.
- Every statistical category was almost identical between the Bears and Trojans with LR holding a slight lead in assists (61-60) and aces (10-8).
- Kayli Cleaver, Averie Dale, and Brooke Aeschliman all finished with four blocks each.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- This was Lenoir-Rhyne's second time defeating Anderson in five sets this season.
- Bears are 3-0 this season when going to a fifth set.
- This is the first time head coach Nicole Barringer is heading to the SAC Championship.
- Bears are back in the SAC Championship match for the first time since 2021.
- Anderson still leads the all-time series 18-17, but Lenoir-Rhyne has won the last two postseason matches.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will face off against the #23 ranked Wingate Bulldogs for the South Atlantic Conference Championship tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs won their only meeting this season, taking down the Bears back on October 2nd in four sets. Wingate swept #4 seed Mars Hill in the semi-finals earlier tonight to advance to the championship match.