Lady Eagles Extend Winning Streak to Six Matches with 3-1 Victory over Brevard
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Senior Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) tallied a match-high 16 kills and junior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) added 15 kills to lead the Carson-Newman volleyball team to a 3-1 (29-27, 22-25, 25-12, 29-27) victory over Brevard on Friday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Senior Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) tallied a match-high 16 kills and junior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) added 15 kills to lead the Carson-Newman volleyball team to a 3-1 (29-27, 22-25, 25-12, 29-27) victory over Brevard on Friday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.
With the win, the Lady Eagles extend their winning streak to six matches and are now 11-3 on the year and 5-3 in the conference. Brevard falls to 2-11 overall and 0-8 in SAC play.
Mozgai, who had a hitting percentage of .333, finished with a double-double as she also had 14 digs, while James delivered four service aces and nine blocks.
Junior Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) collected 11 kills for C-N, and Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) produced eight kills and eight digs. Senior Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) finished with a career-high 31 assists to lead the Lady Eagles, while freshman Courtney Lawson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) contributed 20 assists and 14 digs.
Ashlie Morrison (Denver, Colo.) and Kortney Conner (Franklin, N.C.) led Brevard with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Conner also had four service aces. Lindsey Rogers (Hickory, N.C.) dished out 24 assists, and Jordei Osby (Goldsboro, N.C.) compiled six blocks in the loss.
The teams battled back and forth in the first set through 12 ties and five lead changes. The Tornados grabbed a 27-26 lead on a C-N service error, but the Lady Eagles rallied to score the next three points and claim a 29-27 win.
Brevard seemed destined to run away with the second set by opening with an 11-1 run, led by three kills from Conner. However, with the Tornados leading 16-7, the Lady Eagles went on an 11-4 run to pull to within 20-18 but they were unable to capitalize, as Brevard went on to win 25-22.
C-N controlled the third set and never trailed, leading by as many as 12 points late. James then came through with a kill on match point to give the Lady Eagles a 25-12 victory and a 2-1 lead. C-N had a hitting percentage of .520 (14-1-25) for the set.
The fourth set was much like the opening frame, as the teams went through 11 ties and three lead changes. With the match tied at 27, Mozgai delivered back-to-back kills to bring the match to a close.
C-N returns to the court at home on Saturday in a SAC matchup with Lenoir-Rhyne. Match time is set for 2 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
