Mars Hill topples C-N on Tuesday night, 3-0

MARS HILL, N.C. - Mars Hill's Marissa Wixson posted a season-high 20 kills and to go along with 14 digs and led her team to a three-set match victory over Carson-Newman on Tuesday inside Stanford Arena. The Lions (13-11, 8-10 South Atlantic Conference) defeated the Lady Eagles (15-13, 5-11) by scores of 25-22, 25-14 and 25-20.

In the first set, Carson-Newman jumped out to a 15-8 advantage before Mars Hill rallied. Trailing 21-17, the Lions outscored the Lady Eagles 8-1 down the stretch. A service ace by Laura Ann Huskey ended the first game.

Mars Hill jumped out to a 17-9 lead in the second set. Back-to-back kills by Chelsea Larsen with assists from Hannah Wilson gave the Lions the second-set victory.

The third set started similiarly to the second set, as Mars Hill staked to a sizeable advantage at 10-3. The Lady Eagles answered with their own run. A 15-4 spurt by Carson-Newman with back-to-back Lion errors made the score 18-14. Mars Hill responded with a 11-2 run, including the final three points, to end the match.

Larsen ended the night with nine kills. Doneisha Gartica had eight. Maggie Murphy came up with 25 digs, while Hillary Gambrell had 10. Wilson dished out 20 assists, and Becca Smith had 17. Gambrell, Huskey and Murphy each had two service aces.

Rachel Harper led Carson-Newman offensively with nine kills and nine digs. Angelle Hayes totaled 11 digs. Courtney Lawson had 10. Kristen Pickett had 20 assists.

Carson-Newman will host Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Brevard on Saturday at 5 p.m. to wrap up the regular season.