November 16, 2013

Eagles send off Schultz with sweep of Tornados

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – On Emily Schultz’s senior day, the Carson-Newman Eagles (12-17, 7-15 South Atlantic Conference) defeated the Brevard Tornados (7-20, 3-19 SAC) 25-19, 25-23 and 25-15 Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.

Brevard

Carson-Newman

Final	1	2	3	T
Brevard	19	23	14	0
Carson-Newman	25	25	25	3

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – On Emily Schultz's senior day, the Carson-Newman Eagles (12-17, 7-15 South Atlantic Conference) defeated the Brevard Tornados (7-20, 3-19 SAC) 25-19, 25-23 and 25-15 Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.

"I expected us to win in three sets today," head coach Shannon Mincey said of the season finale. "Our players are capable of finishing at home on senior day. We had an enjoyable senior ceremony with Emily. The Schultz family is very special to us at Carson-Newman."

The first set was dominated by junior outside hitter Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and junior setter Kristen Pickett (Cleveland, Tenn.). Harper tallied nine kills and six digs while Pickett finished with 15 assists and five digs. Tied at nine, Carson-Newman used an 11-3 run to capture control before winning the game on a kill by sophomore middle Kiayna O'Neal (Katy, Texas).

Tied at 19 in the second stanza, the Eagles reeled off four of five points capped by a kill by Harper before a bad set by Brevard handed the frame to Carson-Newman.

The home team hit .300 in the second set as Harper and O'Neal each compiled four kills while Pickett had 12 assists.

Trailing 7-5 in the third set, Carson-Newman went on a 7-1 run to take a 14-10 lead. The Eagles used that cushion to coast through the rest of the game using their entire bench and won the match on a service error.

Schultz (Atlanta, Ga.) had four kills, five digs and one block assist in her final collegiate volleyball game.

"It was especially great to watch everyone cheer on Emily to end the game," Mincey said about the atmosphere.

Harper finished the season with a double-double in eight of her last nine games as she compiled 18 total doubles this season. The junior hit .593 with 17 kills and 14 digs.

Pickett had her eighth double-double of the season with 39 assists, ten digs and six kills.

Junior outside hitter Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had nine kills and ten digs while freshman middle JaLesa Beaver had eight kills.

Freshman libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) had 17 digs.

"I thought our freshman libero played really well today," Mincey said about Lowe's performance. "She made some key digs for our hitters."

The Eagles finish the season in ninth place in the South Atlantic Conference standings as they conclude the year 6-8 at the friendly confines.