Lady Eagles Finish 1-1 in Tri-match at Anderson

ANDERSON, S.C. — The Carson-Newman volleyball team went 1-1 on Saturday as a part of a tri-match at Anderson (S.C.) at the Abney Athletic Center.

The Lady Eagles defeated Anderson, 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19), in a South Atlantic Conference matchup to open the day before falling to Limestone, 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 15-25, 25-22), in their second match.

With the split, C-N is now 14-7 on the season and 8-6 in the Conference.

C-N took a quick lead in the opening set against Andersno, but the Trojans drew even and the match was tied three times before freshman Tori Calhoon knocked down one of her 10 kills to give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish at 9-8. AU built a four-point cushion before C-N pulled within 18-17, but the Trojans went on a 4-1 run and closed out the set by scoring three of the final four points.

The Lady Eagles took advantage of a .414 attack percentage in the second frame and pushed out to an eight-point advantage en route to taking the win. C-N stayed hot in the third set, scoring the first five points and never trailed, taking the 2-1 overall lead.

It was AU's turn to gain the early edge in the fourth set, garnering a 9-5 lead before the Lady Eagles went on a 6-2 run to knot the score at 11 apiece. The score was tied twice, but C-N claimed the lead on a Trojan error and refused to surrender the advantage.

Four Lady Eagles reached double-figure kills, led by Carly Mozgai's (Greensboro, N.C.) 18, while Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) added 17 and Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) recorded 12. Swisher committed just one error in 30 attempts for a match-high .533 attack percentage. Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) and Courtney Lawson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) combined for 43 assists on the afternoon, with Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) recording a match-high 22 digs.

Senior Jamie Lancaster knocked down a team-leading 18 kills, while Marlie Bryant added 11 and Calhoon notched 10. Freshman Hayley Hoover dished out a career-high 41 assists in the effort, with senior Adria Mullaney collecting 17 digs and Lancaster tallying 16.

In the second match, the Lady Eagles fell to Limestone in four sets. Limestone improves to 6-16 with the win.

Swisher led the way with nine kills, while James added five and sophomore Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) had four.

McDonald and Lawson dished out 12 and eight assists, respectively in the loss. Hayes had 21 digs, and Bowlin added 19 digs.

Kassi Boedeker and Jordan Preville led Limestone with 11 kills apiece, and Danielle Seibert finished with a match-high 38 assists.

The Lady Eagles return to action on Tuesday at home against SAC rival Tusculum. Match time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.