Lady Eagles Defeat LMU, 3-1
March 29, 2007
HARROGATE, TN-- Carson-Newman avenged a loss in September by defeating the LMU Lady Railsplitters, 3-1 (31-29, 30-28, 23-30, 35-33) in a key South Atlantic Conference match.
The Lady Eagles (13-12, 4-7 SAC) were led by Kari Gibson, who compiled a season-high 62 assists, and Haley Bush, who anchored the C-N defense with 27 digs. Melissa Miller and Kelsey Fleck paced the offense with 16 kills apiece.
A scary moment occured near the end of the third game when outside hitter Katie Troyer landed awkwardly on the floor after an attempted attack. Coach Shannon Mincey says Troyer's injury inspired her teammates to persevere and win the match:
"Usually a team becomes disheartened when something like that happens, but our team really got fired up and pulled together," Mincey said. "Vanessa Kinsler went in and had alot of heart and enthusiasm. That speaks very highly of our team chemsitry."
The fourth game was tied at 28-28 when LMU and C-N battled through four lead changes with the Lady Eagles finally emerging on top to win the game, 35-33, and ultimately the match. The Lady Eagles look to carry the momentum of the victory into Friday's home match against Presbyterian College at 7:00 p.m.
"We want to carry this energy into Friday night against Presbyertian who beat us in five games on their home court," Mincey said. "We have alot to prove Friday night. I know our team is prepared and focused for it."
