Eagles fall flat in final nonconference tuneup
September 14, 2014

Eagles fall flat in final nonconference tuneup

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (4-3) fell to UNC Pembroke in five sets and were swept by GRU Augusta as the Eagles had to settle for an 0-2 road trip.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (4-3) fell to UNC Pembroke in five sets and were swept by GRU Augusta as the Eagles had to settle for an 0-2 road trip.

"Today we learned that if we mentally and physically don't show up ready to win in every aspect of the game, we'll get beat," head coach Dan Ahiers said after the matches.

Match No. 1 – UNC Pembroke 3  Carson-Newman 2 

The Eagles had to make a comeback in the opening frame after falling behind by as many as six, Carson-Newman reeled off eight of 12 points to tie the score at 22. Senior outside hitter Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Springs, Colo.) got the kill that solidified a 25-23 victory.

The momentum from set one carried over into the second stanza as Carson-Newman surged to a 9-5 lead, but UNC Pembroke battled back to knot the score at 13. After exchanging rallies, the Eagles pulled away for a 25-21 victory.

Set three looked good for the Eagles, who had a match point in the frame at 26-25, but an attack error by junior middle blocker Kiayna O'Neal (Katy, Texas) left the door open and the Braves seized the final three points to win 28-26 and extend the match.

Carson-Newman held several leads in the fourth set, but a 9-3 run enabled the Braves to surge out to a 22-16 advantage. The Eagles tighten things up, but could not complete the comeback and a fifth set loomed.

UNC Pembroke put the game out of control after the score was tied at seven. The Braves reeled off seven unanswered points and the Eagles could not close the gap falling 15-9.

Carson-Newman was held to its lowest attack percentage of the season by hitting .144 to go along with a season-high 11 blocks.

Santarelli led all players with a career-high 23 kills and an impressive .365 attack percentage to go along with 2.5 blocks.

Senior setter Kristen Pickett racked up her third double-double of the season with 45 assists and a career-high 24 digs while matching a career-best with two solo blocks.

Junior outside hitter Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) logged her first career double-double with 11 kills and a career-high 18 digs.

Carson-Newman was swept in the finale by GRU Augusta.

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