Ballard and Edwards reel in D2CCA All-Region laurels
WINGATE, N.C. – Morgan Ballard and Erin Edwards were named second-team All-Southeast Region selections by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) Wednesday afternoon adding to a list of plaudits for the duo.
WINGATE, N.C. – Morgan Ballard and Erin Edwards were named second-team All-Southeast Region selections by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) Wednesday afternoon adding to a list of plaudits for the duo.
Carson-Newman places a pair on all-region clubs for the first time since winning the region title in 2015 when Maddie Borch and Molly Locke earned recognition from the D2CCA. This season is the fourth time in program history that a pair were honored with all-region laurels.
Ballard becomes the first player in C-N history to earn an all-region honor in three different seasons after being on lists as a sophomore and a junior. The Weaverville, N.C. native has been named All-South Atlantic Conference three times in her career and earned SAC All-Tournament team honors this year.
The libero became the first Eagle to be on top two All-SAC teams three straight seasons since Carly Mozgai accomplished the feat from 2008-10. Overall she becomes the fifth player to do so.
Once again the league is looking up at the Weaverville, N.C. native who leads the league in digs per set with 6.09 and total digs with 688. She ranks sixth nationally in both areas posting double-digit digs in every match this year with 18 nights of at least 20. She reset her own SAC record for digs in a three-set match in the SAC title match posting 40, good for the second-most in NCAA Division II history.
Already holding two of the top three dig seasons in program history, Ballard's 688 this year are good for the seventh-most in a single year while her digs per set effort would be good for fourth. She owns the top two averages crushing the program record as a junior with 7.61.
During her three seasons at Mossy Creek, she has racked up 2,291 total digs and a 6.86 digs per set average. The libero ranks second in school history in digs while her average is over a full dig higher than the next closest number. Ballard has 94 career double-digit dig efforts including each of her last 56 times on the court leading C-N in scoops 85 times in 92 career outings.
Her 2,000th career scoop came in her first dig against USC Aiken on Oct. 11 helping lead C-N to a sweep of the previously unbeaten Pacers at Holt Fieldhouse. Ballard's career total sits at 2,397, a number that is good for sixth among active Division II players and ninth across all divisions.
Edwards continues her breakout junior year tacking on an all-region laurel to second-team All-SAC honors and the 2019 SAC Tournament MVP where she posted 44 kills in three matches led by a career-high 16 against 24th-ranked Wingate in the semifinals.
The Midlothian, Va. has stuffed the stat sheet with 309 total kills, good for seventh in the league, 105 blocks, good for fourth, averaging 2.72 kills and 0.92 blocks per set. With a .307 hitting percentage, she has the seventh-highest efficiency in the league.
Her efficiency figure stands in fifth place for a single season by a C-N player all-time raising her career margin to .285 good for third on the Eagles' all-time list. Edwards has hit at least .300 in 23 matches so far on the year including eight of her last 10 times on the floor.
The right side has 15 overall double-digit kill efforts on the year leading the team in smashes nine times and leading the way in rejections on four occasions. The junior has two double-digit kill efforts in her first 11 matches but has 13 over her final 21 as she averaged 3.47 kills per set in nine November matches.
The Eagles open the NCAA Tournament Thursday at noon as the No. 3 seed in the Southeast Region playing sixth-seeded Anderson from Wingate's Cuddy Arena. Broadcast coverage will air on the ESPN app via your favorite streaming device.
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