SAC heavyweights set for battle in Tar Heel State
October 29, 2015

SAC heavyweights set for battle in Tar Heel State

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A battle of the top-two teams in the South Atlantic Conference is slated for Friday evening at 7 p.m. from Wingate’s Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs (21-2, 15-1 SAC) have won nine straight regular season titles and have a one-match lead on the Carson-Newman Eagles (21-4, 14-2 SAC). A win for Wingate would give the Bulldogs a two-match lead in the standings with five contests to play while a Carson-Newman victory would give the Eagles a share of the league-lead.

VIDEO: Dan Ahiers Interview

Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A battle of the top-two teams in the South Atlantic Conference is slated for Friday evening at 7 p.m. from Wingate's Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs (21-2, 15-1 SAC) have won nine straight regular season titles and have a one-match lead on the Carson-Newman Eagles (21-4, 14-2 SAC). A win for Wingate would give the Bulldogs a two-match lead in the standings with five contests to play while a Carson-Newman victory would give the Eagles a share of the league-lead.

"After getting beat by L-R last year we came out fired up and beat Wingate in the next match," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "It's the same thing happening this year. We get beat up there at LMU and our next match is Wingate. Hopefully it was a wake-up call for the girls. Hopefully it was a wake-up call for the coaching staff and hopefully we come out really prepared on Friday."

The Eagles saw their 17-match winning streak in SAC road games come to halt on October 27 at Lincoln Memorial. Carson-Newman has not lost back-to-back SAC matches of any kind under Dan Ahiers while the only time the team has lost consecutive contests was against UNC Pembroke and at Augusta at the beginning of 2014.

The 17-match road streak set a new mark for consecutive road victories in league contests. The previous mark was eight set at the end of 2002 and the beginning of 2003.

"I haven't had to do much," Ahiers said. "I've got great players. I had great players last year. I have great players this year. They're mature. They understand how to take care of themselves that know how to respond after loses. I pretty much just roll the balls out."

Ahiers has a chance to become the fastest Carson-Newman coach in the program's history, six coaches, to win 50 games this weekend. The second-year coach is two wins shy of that mark through his first 59 contests. Ahiers's predecessor, Shannon Mincey, won 50 of her first 84 matches and holds the current mark for fastest to 50 wins.

Wingate captured the first meeting this season between the programs in four sets at Holt Fieldhouse. A prolific block from the Bulldogs that tallied 14 total rejections held the Eagles to a .110 attack percentage.

"[Wingate coach Shelton Collier] has tall, physical girls," Ahiers said. "They block really well at the net. He has a strong defense behind his block. The libero is playing great. They really don't have a lot of weaknesses on defense. In practice we just have to find ways to get around the block."

Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) notched her third double-double of the season with 35 assists and 15 digs while freshman middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) had a team-high 13 kills.

Wingate saw three players reach double figures in kills with Stumpff tallying 16 kills and 10 digs with Stumpff and Tyler Smith combining for nine total blocks.

Wingate has a commanding advantage in the all-time series leading 42-14 in the previous 55 meetings. In the last match played by the two teams at Cuddy Arena on November 1, 2014, the Eagles prevailed in five sets against the seventh-ranked team in the nation snapping a 55-match SAC winning streak for Wingate. The Bulldogs had won 25 consecutive matches between the schools dating back to September 24, 2005 prior to the contest.

Wingate has the fourth-longest winning streak in the nation this season having won 14 consecutive contests and holding a 10-0 record at Cuddy Arena this season.

The Bulldogs are third in the nation this season in opponent attack percentage yielding a .106 percentage. The team is 13th nationally in digs per set averaging 18.72.

Stumpff is fifth among Division II athletes averaging 0.65 service aces per set with a total of 47 this year. The senior is 18th nationally and tops in the SAC in points per set averaging 4.63.

Carson-Newman caps this weekend at Coker on Saturday with the stage set for a 2 p.m. first serve. In the first meeting this season the Eagles yielded a .042 attack percentage as junior middle blocker Maddie Borch (Walnut Creek, Calif.) led the team with 13 kills on a .458 percentage.

Coker's lone win in conference play this season came on October 2, a four-set victory over Queens (N.C.). The Cobras have lost seven straight contests having been swept five times in that span.

The Eagles have won all five matches between the two sides in the all-time series history with just one of the previous five meetings lasting longer than three sets, a four-set at Mossy Creek in 2013.

The Cobras are 264th out of 281 teams with a .101 attack percentage having hitting above .100 just four times in the last 17 matches.

The Wingate match will be available on ESPN3 and on the WatchESPN app. For a direct link to the contest click here.

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