Eagles search to get back on winning track at Newberry, Anderson
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman volleyball (2-4, 0-1 SAC) will try to shake off a five-set setback to rival Tusculum and pick up its first win in SAC play when the Eagles travel to South Carolina to tangle with Newberry (7-5, 1-1 SAC) Friday and Anderson (7-4, 0-2 SAC) Saturday.
The Newberry Wolves likely will put Carson-Newman libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) through her paces. The Wolves are second in the conference in service aces for the season. Samantha Parrish leads Newberry with 16, while Lauren Prachar follows with 13 – both totals are in the top five individually for the SAC. All told, the Wolves have five players with double digit service aces.
"This is my ninth year hear at Carson-Newman," Eagle head coach Shannon Mincey said. "I don't know what's in the gym at Newberry, but they serve so aggressively. I think some of that comes from the international players they have on their team. It's a dropping topspin serve that we need to be prepared for."
The Eagles' Hayes ranks near the top of the conference in digs/set with 4.67 a set. Mincey said the senior from Brentwood, Tenn., will be counted on mightily.
"This year I sensed she set some personal goals for herself," Mincey said. "It's hard for liberos to have goals…you don't get a lot of the rewards that hitters and setters do. Angelle does a fabulous job of serve receive, which is something that not a lot of people notice."
Hayes has just seven service reception errors through the Eagles' first six games. Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) leads Carson-Newman's attack with 2.88 k/s. Harper and company will face an Anderson block Saturday that features the second-leading blocker in the conference.
Tiffany Rowe averages 1.12 b/s for the Trojans, while that figure is outside the top 50 nationally; her 26 solo blocks are good for second in the nation.
"Sometimes our opponents are night and day," Mincey said. "The preparation is a quick turnaround. We need to go into Newberry and be prepared for an intense crowd and a quality service game. Then, quickly turn around and get ready Anderson. Both are quality teams, but both are very different."
The Eagles play Newberry Friday at 7 p.m. before taking to Anderson to play the Trojans at 2 p.m. Saturday. Stats and video will be available at newberrywolves.com and autrojans.com.
-CN-
_of_Team?max_width=767)
_of_Angelle_Hayes?max_width=767)
.jpg?max_width=767)
