Carson-Newman Volleyball Wins First-Ever NCAA Playoff Match, 3-2, Over Catawba Friday
WINGATE, N.C. - Carson-Newman College won a suspenseful fifth set to take a 3-2 (11-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 19-17) victory over Catawba College in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional volleyball tournament Friday night. The win was the first in NCAA postseason play in Carson-Newman history.
WINGATE, N.C. - Carson-Newman College won a
suspenseful fifth set to take a 3-2 (11-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25,
19-17) victory over Catawba College in the NCAA Division II
Southeast Regional volleyball tournament Friday night. The win was
the first in NCAA postseason play in Carson-Newman history.
C-N improves to 23-9 overall. The Lady Eagles will face the
Bulldogs of Wingate Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Catawba concludes
the 2009 campaign with a 17-12 record.
Carson-Newman senior outside hitter Jessica
Schachleiter (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 19 kills and 17 digs.
Junior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro,
N.C.) posted 14 kills, while senior middle blocker Jessica
Brady (Fruitland Park, Fla.) collected 12 kills of her
own.
Lady Eagle senior setter Stephanie Cutter
(Murfreesboro, Tenn.) picked up a double-double with 31 assists and
25 digs. Junior setter Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.)
had 21 assists, while freshman libero Angelle
Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) collected 23 digs.
Catawba freshman setter Jordan Raye (Boonville, N.C.) had a
triple-double with 48 assists, 19 digs and 10 kills. Freshman
outside hitter Kaitlyn Whitmer (Ferrum, Va.) topped the offensive
charts with a match-high 22 kills. Whitmer added 21 digs. Catawba
sophomore outside hitter Shay Meeks (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
contributed 16 kills.
Indian senior libero Mai Zoua Lo (Hickory, N.C.) collected a
match-high 35 digs. Zoua Lo and senior middle blocker Jasmine Chunn
(East Bend, N.C.) played their last match for head coach Ginger
Hamric Friday night. Chunn had eight kills.
The fifth set featured10 ties and was filled with emotion on both
sides, but the Lady Eagles came away with the win. Meeks tied the
frame for the last time with a kill, making the score 17-17. Kills
by Brady and Schachleiter gave the Eagles the hard-fought
victory.
Catawba worked hard in the fourth set, nearly leading from start to
finish to send the contest to a deciding fifth set. The Indians
turned a 6-6 tie into a 10-6 lead on a service ace by Parrish.
Carson-Newman tied the set at 16-16, thanks to a Catawba error.
Back-to-back Brady kills put the Eagles up 19-17.
Parrish helped Catawba take the fourth set, as she served four
straight points to give the Indians a 22-19 advantage. Moran and
Meeks recorded kills in the 4-0 run. Catawba finished the frame
with a kill by Raye.
In the third set, Carson-Newman took the lead for good at 3-2 on a
service ace by Hayes. Schachleiter’s kill put the Eagles up
12-7. Catawba cut the margin to 19-18, thanks to a kill by Raye.
Schachleiter added two more kills down the stretch as Carson-Newman
pulled away for the 25-20 victory. The set ended on a Catawba
attack error.
A Schachleiter kill put Carson-Newman up 4-1 in the second set. The
Eagles kept the advantage until late in the set, when Catawba took
an 18-17 edge on a C-N error. The Eagles answered with four
straight points, capped by a Cutter ace to make the score 21-18
Carson-Newman.
The Indians would not rest, as Catawba tied the second frame at
23-23 on a kill by junior middle blocker Katie Moran (Northville,
Mich.) and a Carson-Newman error. A Cutter kill made it 24-23. The
Eagles sealed the deal thanks to a Catawba error.
Catawba did not trail in the opening stanza. Back-to-back kills by
sophomore middle blocker Taylor Doss (Boonville, N.C.) gave the
Indians a 12-3 advantage. A Meeks kill put Catawba up 20-9.
Consecutive kills by Whitmer and a Moran kill finished the set
25-11 for Catawba. The Indians hit .516 in the first set with 18
kills, two errors and 31 total attacks.
