Two wins cap the opening weekend for the Eagles
September 5, 2015

Two wins cap the opening weekend for the Eagles

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (3-1) swept a doubleheader taking the first match of the day against Lock Haven (1-3) 3-1 and capping the weekend with a sweep against the Bemidji State Beavers (0-4).

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (3-1) swept a doubleheader taking the first match of the day against Lock Haven (1-3) 3-1 and capping the weekend with a sweep against the Bemidji State Beavers (0-4).

"I was very impressed with how we responded to getting beat last night," Ahiers said. "They didn't like it and made sure to earn two wins today. More importantly they earned them as a team. They worked together and looked more cohesive."

Match No. 1 – Carson-Newman 3, Lock Haven 1

Carson-Newman raced out of the gates to begin Saturday winning 15 of the first 20 points, but Lock Haven chipped away at the deficit cutting the C-N lead to twice four times before a kill from senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) put the finishing touches on a 25-22 win. Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) handed out 16 assists in set.

The two sides swapped points for the first half of the second stanza. With Patton on serve, the Eagles reeled off five straight points prompting a timeout from the Bald Eagles with Carson-Newman ahead 18-13. After the timeout, Lock Haven won five of the next six points and gained a 23-22 lead before closing things out at 25-23.

In a frame that saw neither side lead by more than two points the entire set, senior outside hitter Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) sealed a set victory with a kill giving the game to Carson-Newman 25-23. There were 17 ties in the third set.

The Eagles surged out of the gates in the fourth set taking a 9-4 advantage to start the frame. The Bald Eagles closed to within two four times but a kill from Locke closed out the match with a 25-21 fourth set tally.

Locke notched her second double-double is as many days by putting up 12 kills and 26 digs. Fairley also tallied a double-double for a second consecutive day with 11 kills and 14 digs.

Junior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) had 28 digs while Patton had her first career double-double with 46 assists and 18 digs.

Freshman middle blockers Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) and Allie Foster (Johnson City, Tenn.) finished with 13 and 11 kills respectively.

Lock Haven was led by 19 kills and 11 digs from Sarah Gomish and 46 assists and 23 digs from Jessica Brown.

Match No. 2 – Carson-Newman 3, Bemidji State 0

A string of five straight points put the Eagles ahead 8-3 early in the opening frame. Carson-Newman continued to pull away from Bemidji State before closing things out 25-18.

The second set was tight for most of the game. With the score tied at 17, the Eagles reeled off five unanswered points capped by a kill from Locke to go ahead 22-17 before coasting to a 25-21 set win.

In a hotly contested final frame, Carson-Newman led most of the way but the score was tied at 23. A kill from Fairley and an attack error from the Beavers sealed the win for the Eagles.

Locke led all players with 11 kills on a .269 attack percentage while Patton dished out 33 assists and five digs for the Eagles. Fairley added nine kills and seven digs in the match.

Carson-Newman begins South Atlantic Conference play Friday night at 7 p.m. inside of Holt Fieldhouse against Lenoir-Rhyne.

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