ANDERSON, S.C. - Close, but no cigar. The Lenoir-Rhyne volleyball team had their chances on Tuesday at Anderson, including four match points in the fourth set, but a gritty Trojan team came back to take down the Bears in five.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: (RV) Anderson 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 2 (23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 29-27, 15-11)
Records: Anderson (18-3, 12-1 SAC), Lenoir-Rhyne (12-6, 10-4 SAC)
Location: Anderson, S.C. | Abney Athletic Center
STORY OF THE MATCH:
- Leading 8-7, Lenoir-Rhyne broke open the opening set with a 6-0 run.
- Just a few points later, a kill from Emmaleigh Allen put the Bears up 18-9.
- The Trojans came storming back, going on a 9-0 run to take a 20-19 lead.
- Anderson failed to put the Bears away and Lenoir-Rhyne won the opening set 25-23.
- The curse of the run hit the Bears again in the second set, as tied 12-12 they gave up a 12-0 run.
- Neither team led by more than two during the entire third set.
- Luckily, the Bears held the final two point lead, going up 2-1 in the match on a Rachael Chambers kill.
- Lenoir-Rhyne took control midway through the fourth, going up 16-9 in the set.
- With the Bears leading 24-21, Anderson saved match point three times to tie it a 24-24.
- The Bears saw themselves with one more match point, but Anderson kept their composure to win the set 29-27.
- Lenoir-Rhyne led 3-1 in the third set before Anderson scored 10 of the next 12 points to begin to pull away.
- Two consecutive Averie Dale kills cut the lead to three, but Anderson took advantage of Bear errors to take the match.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Emmaleigh Allen led the Bears with 17 kills, followed by Averie Dale with 10.
- Sydney Karjala had a strong game, topping the team with 26 assists and 16 digs.
- Brooke Aeschliman (15) and Julie Donato (13) joined Karjala with double-digit digs.
- Anderson hit .222 for the match, compared to .148 for the Bears.
- Lenoir-Rhyne hit just .051 in the fifth set with six errors.
- Service errors plagued the Bears yet again, as they finished with 13 on the night.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Anderson leads the all-time series 22-19.
- This was the Trojans' first sweep of the Bears since 2019.
- These teams have played nine times since 2024.
- Emmaleigh Allen sits in eighth all-time on Lenoir-Rhyne's career kills list with 1,077.
- Averie Dale is tied for ninth with 310 blocks.
- Nicole Barringer is just one win away from 100 at Lenoir-Rhyne.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will host Mars Hill on Friday evening to opening Homecoming weekend at Lenoir-Rhyne. This game doubles as the "Play for Ace" game, helping Ace Carter's family fundraise in support of a heart transplant. Mars Hill volleyball is 11-10 (5-7 SAC) and recently defeated Carson-Newman 3-1 on Saturday. First serve for Friday's match is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
