Carson-Newman Volleyball Sweeps Lincoln Memorial, 3-0, To Split The Season Series With The Lady Railsplitters
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman College Volleyball Team (12-7, 6-3 SAC) got back on the winning track Tuesday night as it defeated Lincoln Memorial University by a 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-23) score at Holt Fieldhouse in South Atlantic Conference action. With the win, the Lady Eagles move into a tie for second place in SAC play with the Lady Railsplitters, who have lost three straight.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman College Volleyball
Team (12-7, 6-3 SAC) got back on the winning track Tuesday night as
it defeated Lincoln Memorial University by a 3-0 (25-21, 25-13,
25-23) score at Holt Fieldhouse in South Atlantic Conference
action. With the win, the Lady Eagles move into a tie for second
place in SAC play with the Lady Railsplitters, who have lost three
straight.
"This win was huge for us," said Head Coach Shannon Mincey. "I
think we focused tonight on not playing with pressure but just
performing. We said, `You can feel pressure or you could just flat
out perform.' We knew we had to beat LMU in three because they beat
us in three up there and we are gunning for a high position in the
conference."
The first set was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams.
Down 20-19, C-N scored six of the next seven points including three
kills from senior middle Katie Troyer (Plain City, Ohio) to take
the 1-0 lead over LMU. Troyer led all players after the first set
with six kills.
Carson-Newman broke the match wide open in the second frame.
Seven-point serving runs by junior outside hitter Carly Mozgai
(Greensboro, N.C.) and freshman libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood,
Tenn.) paced the Lady Eagles to the easy 25-13 win. C-N also posted
four solo blocks during the set, causing Lincoln Memorial to hit in
the negative at -.067 (7-10-45).
The Lady Eagles finished the match off in the third stanza, but
the Lady Railsplitters would not go down without a fight. LMU
jumped out to a 4-1 lead, forcing Carson-Newman to rally to tie the
score at five. The set featured 15 ties and eight lead changes and
was knotted at 23 points apiece before C-N took the match with two
straight scores.
Troyer finished with nine kills to tie for the match-high and
added two blocks for Carson-Newman. Mozgai and seniors Jessica
Brady (Fruitland Park, Fla.) and Jessica Schachleiter (Cincinnati,
Ohio) each tallied seven kills while sophomore Nikki James
(Cookeville, Tenn.) recorded five kills and led all players with
four blocks.
Senior Stephanie Cutter (Mufreesboro, Tenn.) dished out 21 helpers
for a match-high and junior Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) had 15
assists of her own as the two split setting duties for the Lady
Eagles. McDonald also recorded 12 digs to complete the
double-double.
Hayes and freshman defensive specialist Mackenzie Tyree
(Daleville, Va.) tallied 20 and 16 digs, respectively, to lead
C-N.
"We mixed up our lineup tonight. We ran two setters and I think
that gave us some fresh energy, continued Mincey. "Lara (McDonald)
came in and just brought something new to the table that we haven't
experienced yet. Jessica Brady coming off the bench and getting
into the lineup was big for us too. Our blockers performed well
tonight."
The Lady Railsplitters were led offensively by Kodi Cartwright
(Layton, Utah) as she had a nearly errorless match with nine kills
and only one error in 30 attempts. Brittany Pugh (Farmersburg,
Ind.) had 18 assists and Lauren Kiwacka (Tipp City, Ohio) recorded
17 digs to lead Lincoln Memorial as well.
"We dropped one on Saturday, and the girls came in on Sunday by
themselves and practiced," added Mincey. "That really showed a lot
of character to come in on a day off and talked about regrouping
and refocusing."
Carson-Newman will travel to Newberry, S.C. to take on Newberry
College Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., in SAC action.
-Joe Matthews, C-N Sports Information
