Carson-Newman's Mozgai, James garner postseason accolades
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Carson-Newman senior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) and junior middle hitter Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) have earned several postseason accolades after leading the Lady Eagles to another successful season in 2010.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Carson-Newman senior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) and junior middle hitter Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) have earned several postseason accolades after leading the Lady Eagles to another successful season in 2010.
Mozgai and James helped guide C-N to a 20-11 record and a third straight berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Eagles advanced to the Southeast Region semifinals for the second time in school history.
For her efforts, Mozgai has been named first team Daktronics All-Southeast Region and AVCA All-Southeast Region.
"I am pleased to see all of Carly's hard work be recognized," C-N head coach Shannon Mincey said. "She was a dedicated young lady all throughout her career and always came back from summer break in tip-top shape ready for the season. Her main goal was for our team to be its best and daily she strived to make herself better so that she could help the team be better. Carly's example will be missed as she was always a teammate the other players could emulate through her work ethic and poise."
For the year, Mozgai broke several Carson-Newman single-season records. She finished the year with an average of 4.17 kills per set, which is first all-time, and tallied 480 kills, which ranks third all-time. She also left her mark in the C-N career records as she is now fourth in total career kills with 1,394 and fifth in total attack attempts with 3,500 for her career. She tallied double digit kills on 26 occasions this season, including a career high 29 kills against Catawba in the conference quarterfinals. Mozgai also had 10 double doubles for the season and produced 278 digs and 60 blocks.
Mozgai is now eligible for Daktronics NCAA Division II All-America honors.
James received AVCA All-Southeast Region honorable mention honors after finishing the year ranked first in the nation with an average of 1.73 blocks per set, which is a school record. She amassed 199 total blocks on the season as well as 329 kills and 116 digs. James recorded a career-high 12 blocks in a conference win over Anderson on Sept. 25 and she had a career-high 21 kills in C-N's win over Catawba in the conference quarterfinals.
"This is a great achievement for Nikki and for our team for her to be recognized," Mincey said. "Nikki has always been a very consistent blocker and just toward the end of our season she also became a threat offensively, gaining double-digit kills in most of our last matches. I have always appreciated Nikki's team spirit and her willingness to serve her teammates. Nikki will be one to watch next year and has so much potential for her and our team."
Mozgai and James were also named to the NCAA Southeast Region All-Tournament team after leading the Lady Eagles to the Southeast Region semifinals for a second straight year, including a 3-1 victory over rival Tusculum in the first round. Mozgai tallied 24 kills, 19 digs and two blocks in C-N's two matches, while James had 20 kills and led the tournament with 16 blocks.
"Carly and Nikki had a great NCAA tournament run," Mincey said. "They were instrumental in our first round win over Tusculum. Nikki stepped up for our team in the third set and had three or four consecutive solo blocks to make a statement that we weren't ready to lose that set, and Carly's three powerful kills in the fourth set gave our team the drive and momentum to win the match. I am pleased that two of our players could be recognized, although they would tell you that our team as a whole played very well and without the teams efforts these two would not be recognized."
