Eagles survive five-set war in Lions’ den
October 14, 2014

Eagles survive five-set war in Lions’ den

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (15-4, 11-1 South Atlantic Conference) fell behind the Mars Hill Lions (6-13, 5-7 SAC) after a set and need a massive comeback in the fourth set to earn its seconds straight five-set win 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-13 Tuesday night at Stanford Arena.

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (15-4, 11-1 South Atlantic Conference) fell behind the Mars Hill Lions (6-13, 5-7 SAC) after a set and need a massive comeback in the fourth set to earn its seconds straight five-set win 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-13 Tuesday night at Stanford Arena.

"One of our goals each match is to get better as a team," assistant coach Kirby Ellis said after the match. "Mars Hill has an amazing defense and tonight we had to find a way to match them on defense. We had a lot of girls step up tonight and for that reason I think we accomplished our goal. We won as a team."

Mars Hill won four of the final five rallies after the score was deadlocked at 20 in the first frame to go on top of Carson-Newman 1-0 in a set that featured 16 ties and four lead changes. It was the second time in as many contests that the Eagles fell behind after the initial set.

The Eagles jumped out to a 20-13, but a pesky Lions club whittled the deficit to one point at 24-23 before senior outside hitter Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) put a ball off of the block and to the ground to seal the second stanza.

Carson-Newman held a 17-16 until Mars Hill won nine of the final 14 points to capture the third set. Junior libero Kristina Hill (Lake Orion, Mich.) notched eight digs in the stanza.

The visiting unit was on the ropes in the fourth set trailing 21-16 before a 6-1 spurt equalized the contest at 22. Junior middle blocker Kiayna O'Neal (Katy, Texas) found the middle of the court to force a fifth set. Senior setter Kristen Pickett (Cleveland, Tenn.) notched 13 assists.

The Eagles won nine of the first 13 points, but the Lions once again clawed back into the match to tie the score at 13. A kill from senior middle blocker Jenna Wilson (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and a block from Wilson and freshman setter Morgan Harlan (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) solidified a match victory.

Wilson led the Eagles offensive attack by matching a season-high with 20 kills on a .429 attack percentage to go along with five block assists, a solo block and four digs.

Harper tallied 17 kills for the sixth time this season to go along with a season-high 23 digs.

Pickett notched her tenth career 50 assist match finished with 50 assists and nine digs.

Hill marked a new career-high with 24 digs besting her previous benchmark of 12.

Rebecca Butler led the way for Mars Hill with 19 kills and 21 digs.

The Eagles return home with three matches in two days beginning with a 7:00 p.m. meeting with the Queens (N.C.) Royals.

- CN -

Box Score Box Score Preview