Anderson Drops Heartbreaker to Transylvania in Five Sets

The Anderson University volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker to Transylvania University 23-25, 26-28, 25-13, 25-17, 15-13 on Sunday in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

Anderson jumped out to a 14-8 lead in Set 1 and held onto the lead for the remainder of the set. The second set was tightly-contested as the largest lead of the set was four points. Transylvania tied Anderson at 26-all, but the Ravens capped off a 28-26 set win with a kill by Tess Perdue (Lexington, Ky./West Jessamine).

Transylvania took the next two sets to even the match score. During the fifth set, the Ravens scored three points in a row to take a 3-2 lead. The Pioneers produced three points before Anderson evened the score at 5-all. Trailing 9-7, the Ravens recorded four points in a row to lead 11-9. Transylvania chipped away at the deficit and closed out the win with a kill from Karrington Jackson.

"We took an undefeated, number one team in our conference to a fifth set," Coach Tami Miller said. "I am so proud of the fight that we showed and the never-say-die attitude this team has showed."

Transylvania (13-0, 9-0) put together a .198 hitting percentage while Anderson (2-12, 0-8) turned in a .175 hitting percentage.

Jimena Montano (Algonquin, Ill./Harvest Christian Academy) racked up 13 kills and three blocks for the Ravens.

Shaylen Perry (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) notched 10 kills and three blocks. The freshman from Eaton, Ohio posted a .241 attack percentage. Felicity Bontrager (Goshen, Ind./Fairfield) tallied 10 kills and 21 digs. The junior from Goshen put together a .222 hitting percentage.

"Shaylen and Felicity played well, hitting .241 and .222 out of the middle for us. Those are the numbers we need to be successful."

Ashlyn Transier (Cicero, Ind./Oak Hill) also turned in a .231 attack percentage. The sophomore from Cicero produced nine kills.

Erin Roach (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) scattered 22 digs. Perdue smashed 10 kills and Mary Engbrecht (Anderson, Ind./Daleville) contributed nine kills. Kate Todd (Festus, Mo./Festus) and Kaycie Gates (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) dished out 25 assists and 23 assists, respectively.

Anderson closes out the regular season against Manchester University (1-20, 0-8) in a doubleheader on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in North Manchester. The first match counts towards Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play while the second match is considered non-conference action.