July 3, 2013

Mincey unveils 2013 volleyball campaign

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman volleyball will face eight teams that made runs into postseason play last year as a part of its 2013 schedule.

The Eagles take on Wingate, Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial, Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, Palm Beach Atlantic and Clark Atlanta all made the NCAA tournament, while Southern Wesleyan made a trip to the National Christian College Athletic Association's national tournament.

Carson-Newman opens the year at home with its own invitational. The Eagle start on Sept. 6 against defending SIAC champs Clark Atlanta at 2 p.m. Four of C-N's first six opponents made the postseason last year.

After matches with Converse and UNC Pembroke, who the Eagles swept last year, Carson-Newman concludes its home invitational with Palm Beach Atlantic. The no. 25 Sailfish were bounced in the Sweet 16 of the tournament last year by eventual national runner-up Tampa.

"Our players need to face that tough competition," C-N head volleyball coach Shannon Mincey said. "It allows us to face regional competition that hopefully will prepare us well for South Atlantic Conference competition."

Because of the edition of Queens and Coker to the South Atlantic Conference, the Eagles begin league play Sept. 10, with a home match against Tusculum. The Pioneers finished the year fourth in the Southeast Region before upsetting top-seeded Armstrong Atlantic in the NCAA tournament before a Sweet 16 loss to conference mate Wingate.

"There's no out of conference scheduling after those opening two weekends," Mincey said. "We'll have to be in our system earlier. We really don't have a preseason either because of when school starts."

The Eagles conclude nonconference play the weekend of Sept. 13-14 with four matches at the King University Invitational. The Eagles open that tournament with Southern Wesleyan before tangling with tournament host King, North Greenville and Lees-McRae. The Eagles defeated both King and Lees-McRae in 2012.

Conference play is a series of home and road swings for the Eagles. Carson-Newman plans four straight on the road beginning with a Sept. 20 trip to Newberry to face a Wolves club that finished seventh in the regional rankings. After a game with Anderson, the Eagles play no. 23 Wingate, who won the SAC tournament and regular season titles last year before advancing to the Elite Eight where the Bulldogs lost to eventual national champion Concordia St. Paul.

"Our league is very strong," Mincey said. "We're hoping that our two tournaments will (prepare us) so that we are ready to face tough competition in the SAC."

Following back-to-back home matches with Catawba and Queens to start the month of October, the Eagles hit the road again for five straight matches including tilts with NCAA tournament particpants LMU and L-R back-to-back. Sandwiched in that are contests with Brevard and Mars Hill before a short jaunt to Tusculum closes out the roadie.

The Eagles then begin a stretch of seven of nine at home Oct. 25 when Newberry rolls to Holt Fieldhouse.

Carson-Newman concludes the year with three straight at home against LMU, L-R and Brevard.

Date	Opponent	Notes	Result	Time/Status	Links
Sep 6, 2013	Clark Atlanta	Carson-Newman Classic		2:00 PM
	Converse	Carson-Newman Classic		5:00 PM
Sep 7, 2013	UNC Pembroke	Carson-Newman Classic		10:00 AM
	Palm Beach Atl.	Carson-Newman Classic		1:00 PM
Sep 10, 2013	Tusculum *			7:00 PM
Sep 13, 2013	vs. Southern Wesleyan @ King University, Bristol, Tenn.			12:00 PM
	at King (Tenn.)	King University Invitational -		4:30 PM
Sep 14, 2013	vs. North Greenville @ King University, Bristol, Tenn.			10:00 AM
	vs. Lees-McRae @ King University, Bristol, Tenn.			2:30 PM
Sep 17, 2013	Mars Hill *			7:00 PM
Sep 20, 2013	at Newberry *			7:00 PM
Sep 21, 2013	at Anderson (S.C.) *			1:00 PM
Sep 27, 2013	at Wingate *			7:00 PM
Sep 28, 2013	at Coker *			1:00 PM
Oct 4, 2013	Catawba *			7:00 PM
Oct 5, 2013	Queens (N.C.) *			1:00 PM
Oct 8, 2013	at Lincoln Memorial *			7:00 PM
Oct 11, 2013	at Lenoir-Rhyne *			7:00 PM
Oct 12, 2013	at Brevard *			12:00 PM
Oct 15, 2013	at Mars Hill *			7:00 PM
Oct 22, 2013	at Tusculum *			7:00 PM
Oct 25, 2013	Newberry *			7:00 PM
Oct 26, 2013	Anderson (S.C.) *			TBA
Nov 1, 2013	Wingate *			7:00 PM
Nov 2, 2013	Coker *			1:00 PM
Nov 8, 2013	at Catawba *			7:00 PM
Nov 9, 2013	at Queens (N.C.) *			4:00 PM
Nov 12, 2013	Lincoln Memorial *			7:00 PM
Nov 15, 2013	Lenoir-Rhyne *	Family Night		7:00 PM
Nov 16, 2013	Brevard *			12:00 PM