Trek to Tusculum has Eagles seeking best SAC win tally
October 20, 2014

Trek to Tusculum has Eagles seeking best SAC win tally

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The last time the Carson-Newman Eagles (18-4, 13-1 South Atlantic Conference) defeated the Tusculum Pioneers (10-12, 9-5 SAC) twice in a season was also the last time Carson-Newman finished higher in the standings than its oldest rival.

Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The last time the Carson-Newman Eagles (18-4, 13-1 South Atlantic Conference) defeated the Tusculum Pioneers (10-12, 9-5 SAC) twice in a season was also the last time Carson-Newman finished higher in the standings than its oldest rival.

2009 was the previous time the Eagles won two meetings in the same year against the Pioneers and it also marks the last time Carson-Newman made the short journey south and returned to campus with a victory.

In the first meeting this season, Carson-Newman earned its first sweep against Tusculum since 2007 by winning its first match against Tusculum and winning its first league opener since 2010.

Senior setter Kristen Pickett (Cleveland, Tenn.) piled up 34 assists and nine digs while senior outside hitter Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) notched 14 kills on a .364 attack percentage with nine digs.

Tusculum was paced by Megan Hasse who had 11 kills on a .229 hitting percentage.

Entering that match back on September 16, Carson-Newman was 4-3 as it begin a string of 14 wins in 15 matches.

By doing so, the Eagles have positioned themselves to set an all-time mark in South Atlantic Conference wins. The 2002 team finished the season 13-1 and tied for the regular season conference title and with a win Tuesday night Carson-Newman would earned its 14th win in league play this season.

Tusculum won nine straight matches after falling to Carson-Newman, but the Pioneers have lost four straight matches including the last three at home.

The Pioneers are ninth in the conference this season with a .161 attack percentage and seventh with 1.77 blocks per set.

Hasse leads the team with 262 kills and has been set 835 times nearly double the amount of the next highest total on the Pioneer roster.

Tusculum will provide live stats for the match by clicking here or follow @CNathletics on Twitter for all of the latest updates.

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