September 21, 2015

Eagles seek record 10th straight SAC victory against Railsplitters

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (7-1, 4-0 South Atlantic Conference) are looking to set a new program-record with their 10th consecutive regular season SAC victory Tuesday night at Holt Fieldhouse when the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (3-4, 1-3 SAC) come to Mossy Creek for a 7 p.m. first serve.

Lincoln Memorial

3-5 (1-4 SAC)

Carson-Newman

8-1 (5-0 SAC)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	T
Lincoln Memorial 3-5 (1-4 SAC)	15	26	19	25	9	2
Carson-Newman 8-1 (5-0 SAC)	25	24	25	19	15	3

Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (7-1, 4-0 South Atlantic Conference) are looking to set a new program-record with their 10^th consecutive regular season SAC victory Tuesday night at Holt Fieldhouse when the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (3-4, 1-3 SAC) come to Mossy Creek for a 7 p.m. first serve.

The Eagles have won nine straight SAC regular season matches on two occasions. The first time was the start of the 2002 season, Carson-Newman's lone SAC title season, while the second came in 2014 from October 7 to October 24. The longest overall winning streak by a Carson-Newman team came from September 13 to October 12, 2002 when the Eagles won 15 straight contests.

Coach Dan Ahiers's group is the hottest team in the league riding a six-match winning streak having lost just two sets in the last two weeks. The Eagles are the lone remaining team undefeated in league play this season and have started 4-0 in SAC contests for the third time joining the 2002 and 2014 teams. Carson-Newman has dropped just one set in league action while no other team has dropped fewer than five sets.

One of the keys for the Eagles this season has been holding their opponents to an attack percentage in six of the eight matches so far on the year. Since the beginning of 2014, foes have hit above .200 just 11 times in 42 matches with Carson-Newman holding a 28-3 mark when stifling other squads.

The Railsplitters have lost three straight four-set matches in league play. Lincoln Memorial has been the most error-prone team in the league so far committing 108 attack errors in SAC play this year having hit over .200 just once this season, on September 11 in a five-set win over Brevard (.203).

Conversely, Carson-Newman has been the most efficient offensive team since conference play commenced. The Eagles are hitting .256 in four matches while averaging 13.92 kills per set.

Sophomore outside hitter Kiera Holland was a second-team All-SAC and All-Freshman team pick in 2014. The preseason first-team All-SAC honoree led the league in attack errors a season ago and is averaging just 1.77 kills per set this year. She had nine kills and 16 digs at Holt Fieldhouse in 2014.

Freshman Tone Gill is fifth in the SAC in attack percentage hitting at a .302 clip but is averaging a mere 1.73 kills per set.

Junior Abby Cash is fourth in the league this season with 9.39 assists per game and 16th in digs with 3.39. Cash had 47 assists and 21 digs in two matches against C-N in 2014.

Lincoln Memorial leads the all-time series 28-15, but Carson-Newman won a pair of contests in 2014 in straight sets. It marked the first time since 2009 that the Eagles beat the Railsplitters twice in a year going 2-1 six seasons ago.

The Railsplitters hit above .156 in just one set in 2014 as the Eagles held Lincoln Memorial to a .080 and .140 attack percentage in two matches a year ago.

Part of the success for Carson-Newman came from a stout block that tallied seven and nine blocks in the sweeps of its in-state rival.

The Eagles notched 94 kills in the two matches against the Railsplitter a season ago, but just one of those kills came from a player currently on the roster. Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) provided a kill late in the first set.

Tuesday night's contest is available on cneagles.com/live with a presentation courtesy of the Eagle Sports with a high definition video feed beginning five minutes prior to the first serve.

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