April 9, 2016

Sweep of 'Splitters in store for C-N's home debut

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman beach volleyball team tallied a sweep of duels action Saturday afternoon, taking down Lincoln Memorial 5-0 in the first and 4-1 in the second in what was the first-ever home contest in program history.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman beach volleyball team tallied a sweep of duels action Saturday afternoon, taking down Lincoln Memorial 5-0 in the first and 4-1 in the second in what was the first-ever home contest in program history.

"It's like we talked about the other day, it's been our dream to host a beach volleyball event ever since we talked about starting the program last year," assistant coach Kirby Toribio said. "There is just something about having our tram play at home in front of our home fans. We have great fans and great parents. There is just something about playing at home that has a different feeling and it special when we can win."

The two wins on Saturday snapped a current four-match losing skid the Eagles endured while playing four Division I programs at the Gamecock Invitational on March 26-27.

"I'm really proud of our team and the way they played today. We had a couple of adverse weather conditions, but we played through those," Toribio said. "Like I said, I'm proud of us across the board for everything. LMU is an incredible team and has a lot to offer. They are very well coached and we are just happy we have the chance to play them."

Dual One: Carson-Newman 5, Lincoln Memorial 0

Senior Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) and junior Maddie Borch (Walnut Creek, Calif.) picked up their fourth win as a duo with a straight-set win over the LMU top combination by way 21-14 and 21-11 scores.

The freshmen combination of Maddie Zyburt (Plainfield, Ill.) and Katie Will (Clearwater, Fla.) handled the Railsplitter duo in impressive fashion 21-12 and 21-13 for the two-set sweep.

Senior Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) and freshman Ally King (Cincinnati, Ohio) won a narrow first set 21-18 to take an early 1-0 lead. After dropping the second set by seven points, the duo won the decisive third set 15-9 to take the victory. The win was the first for duo as they were competing together for the first time.

Juniors Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) and Eileen Anderson (Pittstown, N.J.) swept their opponents from Harrogate 21-11 and 21-12 for the two-set victory and gave the Orange and Blue its second point of the match.

After dropping the first set 21-10, the fifth-pairing of Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) and Kristina Hill (Lake Orion, Mich.) won a close second set 21-19 and held of the 'Splitters 15-11 in the third set for the first C-N point of the contest.

The exhibition duo of Megan Morris (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) and Allie Foster (Johnson City, Tenn.) made easy work of the LMU exhibition combination 21-8 and 21-11 for the straight set win.

Dual No. 1 Results: Carson-Newman 5, Lincoln Memorial 0

1. Molly Locke/Maddie Borch (C-N) def. Abby Cash/Brooke Fleeman (LMU) 21-14, 21-11

2. Katie Will/Maddie Zyburt (C-N) def. Jamie Jehne/Bristol Snider (LMU) 21-12, 21-13

3. Sara Fairley/Ally King (C-N) def. Samantha Cash/Erica Whiteaker (LMU) 21-18, 14-21, 15-9

4. Eileen Anderson/Taylor Lowe (C-N) def. Kiera Holland/Peyton McDaniel (LMU) 21-11, 21-12

5. Natalie Harris/Kristina Hill (C-N) def. Jordan Green/Fernanda Miaci (LMU) 10-21, 21-19, 15-11

Ext. Megan Morris/Allie Foster (C-N) def. Sydnie Anderson/Kiara Rawls (LMU) 21-8, 21-11

Match Two: Carson-Newman 4, Lincoln Memorial 1

Hill and Harris won two close sets at No. 5 to pick up their second win of the day. After taking the first set 21-16, the pairing eked out a narrow 21-19 second set win to take the match in straight sets.

Lowe and Anderson would then suffer the lone Carson-Newman lost match on the day as the duo fell 21-17, 21-14 in the fourth-seeded contest.

The Eagles' third round pairing of Fairley and King picked things back up with a convincing 21-9, 21-13 two-set win to give a 2-1 advantage to Carson-Newman with only the top-two seeded matches remaining in the contest.

Zyburt and Will followed suit a court over by dominating the first set 21-3 and and holding off the 'Splitters in the second 21-7. The win in the second-seeded contest clinched the match for Carson-Newman and allowed the Eagles to pick up their seventh win of the season.

The final match of the day came in the top-seeded competition as Locke and Borch cruised to a 21-14, 21-11 to pick up their second win of the day and the partners' fifth of the season.

The duo of Morris and Foster won its exhibition by allowing just 12 points to its counterpart and won in straight sets 21-3 and 21-9.

The Eagles will take flight to the South Carolina Sand Tournament next weekend in Columbia, S.C. on the campus of the University of South Carolina.