Lady Eagles' season comes to an end with 3-0 loss to Flagler in NCAA Southeast Region semifinals
WINGATE, N.C. — Second-seeded Flagler College eliminated the sixth-seeded Carson-Newman volleyball team with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21) victory on Saturday night in the semifinals of the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament at Cuddy Arena.
WINGATE, N.C. — Second-seeded Flagler College eliminated the sixth-seeded Carson-Newman volleyball team with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21) victory on Saturday night in the semifinals of the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament at Cuddy Arena.
With the loss, the Lady Eagles season comes to an end at 20-11. C-N had another successful run in 2010, making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and advancing to the region semifinals for just the second time in school history.
Flagler improves to 29-8 overall and advances to the region finals where it will face the winner of tonight's match between top-seeded Wingate and fifth-seeded Montevallo on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. The Saints are the defending region champion.
Junior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) recorded nine kills and five blocks to lead the Lady Eagles, while senior Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) added eight kills and six digs. Junior Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) pitched in six kills and three blocks. Senior Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) delivered 27 assists, and sophomore Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) produced 17 digs.
Meg Weathersby paced Flagler with 14 kills and 12 digs, while Crystal Niedderiter tallied nine kills and four blocks. Rebecca Royal contributed 22 digs in the win.
The teams opened the match with a tightly contested first set that saw 10 ties and two lead changes. A kill by sophomore Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) gave C-N a 18-17 advantage, but Flagler scored the next two points to move back in front. C-N tied the match two more times with the last being at 20-20 on a kill by Mozgai. The Saints then went on a 5-1 run to win the set.
Flagler jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set, but C-N answered to take the lead with an 8-4 run capped off by a service ace from Mozgai. However, the Saints pulled away to claim the set with a 14-3 run.
The third set proved to be much like the first, as the teams battled through eight ties and four lead changes. With the game tied at 9-9, the Lady Eagles went on a 6-1 run behind three kills by James to take the biggest lead of the set at 15-10, but Flagler outscored C-N 15-6 the rest of the way to win the match.
