Carson-Newman Volleyball Comes From Behind To Defeat Newberry, 3-1, Saturday At Holt Fieldhouse
Jefferson City, Tenn. - Carson-Newman College (7-5, 1-1 SAC)
took advantage of 15.5 blocks Saturday as it defeated visiting
Newberry College (9-7, 1-2 SAC) by a 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-16,
31-29) score in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action
Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse. Three players recorded at
least seven blocks in the match for the Lady Eagles.
"Heart and desire truly are the words to express how our team
finished the match today. Newberry pressed us today with their
aggressive serving, we really had to focus on stopping their runs,"
said Head Coach Shannon Mincey after the match. "Stephanie Cutter
our setter was fun to watch, she played with a lot of charisma and
gave our hitters the confidence they needed to finish in tight
situations. Jessica Schachleiter came off the bench for us and hit
an almost errorless match (12-1-23), which we needed from her
today."
Newberry jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning the first set,
25-21, behind five kills from Fernanda Frey (Sao Paulo,
BRAZIL).
The Lady Eagles answered back in the second frame to tie the match
at one set apiece after jumping out to a 5-1 lead. C-N also had a
stretch where it scored seven of eight points as senior middle
Katie Troyer (Plain City, Ohio) recorded four kills in the set.
Freshman libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) tallied nine of
her match-high 27 digs in the second set as well.
Carson-Newman took a 2-1 lead after the third stanza as it out-hit
the scarlet-and-gray by 300 points (.360 to .059). The Lady Eagles
totaled 12 kills on 25 attempts with just 3 miscues. Senior outside
hitter Jessica Schachleiter (Cincinnati, Ohio) converted four of
her five attacks for kills for C-N in the set as the Lady Eagles
gained momentum in the match with a 25-16 victory.
The fourth and deciding set would go down to the wire and require
extra play before Carson-Newman came away with the 31-29 victory to
clinch the contest. The Lady Eagles turned on the block, stuffing
nine Newberry attacks in the set, a season-high for an individual
frame.
Down 24-22 and a fifth set looming, Carson-Newman scored two
straight points to tie the match at 24. The next 12 points featured
five ties before the Lady Eagles were able to pull away for the
win.
Sophomore right side hitter Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) and
freshman middle Jasmine Clarke (Pelham, Ala.) each tallied five of
their eight blocks in the set for C-N while Troyer picked up four
of her own. Schachleiter and Clarke each had four kills as well in
the stanza.
"Nikki (James) and Jasmine (Clarke) were both spark plugs for our
offense and defense collecting eight blocks each," added Mincey.
"Although Katie (Troyer) didn't have the offensive match she
probably would've liked, she certainly made up for it in her court
presence and desire. Newberry stayed on her most of the match,
however she continued to drive up and pull blockers and that gave
our other hitters opportunities to score."
James and Schachleiter paced the Lady Eagles offensively with 12
kills apiece while senior setter Stephanie Cutter (Murfreesboro,
Tenn.) led all players with 45 assists.
Newberry was led by Frey with 15 kills on 45 attempts. She also
recorded 11 digs to be one of three Newberry players to tally
double-doubles on the day. Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) notched
team-highs in both assists and digs with 20 and 14,
respectively.
"Everyone contributed to our win today, even those who didn't get
to play, through the tough practices we have had this week,"
concluded Mincey. "(The players) have pushed each other this week
and have had good team talks about holding each other accountable
and working for our points."
Carson-Newman will remain at home for the next two matches and will
face SAC-rival Tusculum College on Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m., in
historic Holt Fieldhouse.
- Joe Matthews, C-N Sports Information
