ANDERSON, S.C. – The Catawba women's volleyball team traveled to first-place Anderson for a South Atlantic Conference (SAC) match on Friday night. The Trojans pulled away late to win 3-1.
Freshman outside hitter Alani Kincaid produced a standout performance for Catawba, posting nine kills on an efficient .304 hitting percentage while adding two block assists. Lillie Kate Rogers led the attack with 11 kills at a .211 rate and notched nine digs defensively. Sydney McCutcheon generated 18 assists, and Maddie Henning blocked four attacks, both tallying two aces. Riley Hill and Giulia Allison combined for 23 digs.
Catawba (12-11, 8-11 SAC) was impressive around the net, blocking eight attacks to the Trojans' three. Anderson (24-3, 18-1 SAC), however, slowed down the blue and white's offense with 63 digs and scored on 68 kills and nine aces to earn the win.
Catawba started the first set strong defensively, gaining an 8-6 advantage after a kill and solo block from Henning. Lauren Patrick and Rogers combined for another block, followed by a McCutcheon ace as the visitors kept a slight lead. The Catawba Indians would finish the set with five blocks while not having any blocked by the hosts, but the Trojans' offense totaled 17 kills and pulled away to win the first frame 25-18.
Kincaid provided a spark for the Catawba offense early in the second, producing five kills and a block assist to put the blue and white up 15-14. The Trojans took back a 19-17 advantage before back-to-back kills from Rebekah Ayers and consecutive aces from Henning. Kincaid and Rogers landed attacks before Patrick won a battle at the net to seal a 25-21 second-set victory as Catawba's offense unleashed a .278 hitting percentage in the frame.
Anderson looked to answer in third by gaining an early lead. Rogers delivered her third kill of the set to bring Catawba within two, but Trojans attacked at an efficient rate and served five aces as they took the third stanza 25-14.
With their backs against the wall, Rogers, Kincaid and the Ayers twins all delivered multiple kills as Catawba gained an 18-16 fourth-set lead, forcing Anderson to call a timeout. The SAC Regular Season Champions responded by finishing the set on a 9-2 run, taking a 3-1 match win on their home court.
The Catawba Indians will travel to Newberry for their final road match of the season in a pivotal SAC match on Saturday at 2 p.m.
