November 6, 2015

Eagles overcome early deficit to defeat Wolves in four sets

NEWBERRY, S.C. – After dropping the first set the Carson-Newman Eagles (24-5, 17-3 South Atlantic Conference) took the final three sets to defeat the Newberry Wolves (9-15, 5-13 SAC) 20-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-15 Friday night at Eleazer Arena.

Carson-Newman

24-5, 17-3 SAC

Newberry

9-15, 5-13 SAC

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Carson-Newman 24-5, 17-3 SAC	20	25	25	25	3
Newberry 9-15, 5-13 SAC	25	20	21	15	1

Final Box Score

NEWBERRY, S.C. – After dropping the first set the Carson-Newman Eagles (24-5, 17-3 South Atlantic Conference) took the final three sets to defeat the Newberry Wolves (9-15, 5-13 SAC) 20-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-15 Friday night at Eleazer Arena.

"There are no excuses but the team has been through a lot this week emotionally," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "It took us a few points, or a set, to get fully engaged in our mission. Once we did I was very impressed with all aspects of our game tonight."

Carson-Newman committed nine attack errors with just 10 kills in the first frame. The Eagles won seven of the first nine points to seize control of the first set. With the visiting group ahead by five points, a 6-0 stretch for the home team put Newberry ahead for the first time at 10-9. The two sides were deadlocked at 18 until Newberry reeled off seven of the final nine rallies to take the opening set. The first set featured 10 ties and seven lead changes.

The second stanza began with the two programs exchanging the first 14 rallies prior to a 4-1 spurt by the Eagles. The set was not tied the rest of the way as Carson-Newman won the final four points of the set capped by a kill from junior middle blocker Maddie Borch (Walnut Creek, Calif.).

The Eagles wasted no time in the third set leaping out to a 10-3 advantage. The lead was nine at 15-6 when the Wolves reeled off five of the next six to pull within five points. The deficit for Newberry was seven at 24-17 when the Wolves fought off four set points before a kill from Borch ended the set.

Once again Carson-Newman came out firing in the fourth set going ahead 8-2 before a timeout from Newberry. The Wolves were facing a six-point deficit at 13-7 when the Eagles used an 8-1 run to take a 21-8 commanding lead in a set where Newberry hit just .023.

After hitting .024 in the first set the Eagles hit .324 in the final three sets while committing just 11 attack errors in the final three frames.

Carson-Newman tallied 56 kills on a .242 attack percentage with 74 digs, seven service aces and six blocks while Newberry finished with 47 kills while hitting .192 with 60 digs, 11 blocks and three service aces.

Senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) led all players with 14 kills and 20 digs while picking up her 12th double-double of the season. Borch finished with 13 kills on a .370 hitting percentage while fellow middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) had 13 kills on a .385 clip with four block assists.

Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) notched her 12th double-double of the year with 44 assists and 11 digs. Freshman liberos Maddie Zyburt (Plainfield, Ill.) and Megan Morris (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) chipped in 13 and 11 digs respectively.

Junior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) picked up five digs bringing her career total 1,394 as she passed Melissa Miller (2003-06) for sole possession of fourth place for digs on the program's all-time list.

Logan Hayward led Newberry's offensive effort with 13 kills to go along with 14 digs. Kensley Jordan had 14 digs while Rachel Moran dished out 25 assists and Maggie Marsh tallied 18 assists and eight digs.

Anderson will provide live stats and video for Saturday's match slated to begin at 2 p.m. by clicking on the links provided. Fans are encouraged to follow @CNathletics and @CarsonNewmanVB on Twitter for live updates during the match.

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