Lady Eagles Fall to Lenoir-Rhyne, 3-2
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman volleyball team cruised to wins in the first two sets on Saturday against Lenoir-Rhyne, but the Bears rallied to win the final three as they defeated the Lady Eagles 3-2 (18-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-11) in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman volleyball team cruised to wins in the first two sets on Saturday against Lenoir-Rhyne, but the Bears rallied to win the final three as they defeated the Lady Eagles 3-2 (18-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-11) in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.
The loss snaps C-N's six-match winning streak as it falls to 11-4 overall and 5-4 in the conference. Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 7-7 on the season and 4-5 in SAC play.
Senior Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) tallied 23 kills to lead the Lady Eagles, while Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) added 13 kills and Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) produced 11 kills and a match-high eight blocks.
Freshman Courtney Lawson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had a double-double for C-N with 27 assists and 11 digs, while Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) had 21 assists and 10 digs and Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) had 22 digs. Lindsey Bryant (Gainesville, Ga.) had five blocks, and Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) chipped in four blocks in the loss.
Kaitlyn Burton (Mills River, N.C.) was two digs shy of a triple double as she led the Bears with 12 kills, 37 assists and eight digs, while Kayla Morrow (China Grove, N.C.) added 11 kills and Cayla Crawley (Bryson City, N.C.) had nine kills and 17 digs in the win.
The Lady Eagles used a .333 hitting percentage to claim the first set 25-18. Brevard pulled to within 19-18 on a service ace by Morrow, but C-N scored the next six points, including three kills by Mozgai, to win the game.
C-N built a 12-4 lead in the second set and never looked back, leading by as many as nine points. A kill by Lenoir-Rhyne's Lindsey Cantu (Orlando, Fla.) trimmed C-N's lead to 23-18. However, Mozgai delivered a kill and Lawson came through with an ace to lift the Lady Eagles to the win.
The Bears battled back in the third set and built an 11-3 lead. C-N didn't go quietly as it pulled to within 24-22 on a Bears attack error, but Morrow produced a kill to end the set.
After Lenoir-Rhyne won the fourth set 25-15, the Bears claimed the match by hitting .360 in the decisive set. The teams played to a 9-9 tie in the frame, but Lenoir-Rhyne outscored C-N 6-2 to win the match.
The Lady Eagles return to action on Oct. 12 at Lincoln Memorial. Match time is set for 6:30 p.m.
