Survive and advance: Eagles squeak by Trojans in five sets
ANDERSON, S.C. – Second-seeded Carson-Newman volleyball was pushed to the limit by Anderson (S.C.) but survived 25-19, 22-25, 23-25, 31-29 and 15-13 after facing five match points in the fourth set Friday evening at the Abney Athletic Center in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
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19 | 25 | 25 | 29 | 13 | 2 |
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25 | 22 | 23 | 31 | 15 | 3 |
ANDERSON, S.C. – Second-seeded Carson-Newman volleyball was pushed to the limit by Anderson (S.C.) but survived 25-19, 22-25, 23-25, 31-29 and 15-13 after facing five match points in the fourth set Friday evening at the Abney Athletic Center in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
"It was a great team effort tonight," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "Without each girl on this team, we couldn't have done it. The love and energy they show for each other to pull out a win like this is inspiring. It's an absolute joy to coach this team. Their crowd was loud, intense and large. That was probably the toughest crowd we have seen all year."
The fourth set featured 19 ties and 11 changes and Anderson (11-18) thought it won the match when the officials called sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) for a backrow attack. Patton was in the front row and the officials, after a conversation, ruled for a replay of the point. The Trojans had five match points in the set while Carson-Newman (26-6) had three set points before a kill by freshman middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) gave the Eagles a 31-29 set victory and extended the match to a fifth set. It was the first time Carson-Newman won a set that required at least 30 points since winning the fourth set 30-28 versus Lincoln Memorial on November 16, 2012.
The Eagles had multiple three-point leads and led 12-7 in the fifth when the Trojans used a 6-1 sequence to tie the score at 13. A kill by senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) and an Anderson attack error gave the Eagles a match victory.
Anderson took its first lead of the first set at 4-3 before a 6-0 spurt by Carson-Newman put the Eagles ahead 9-4. It was a lead that the No. 2 seed never relinquished as the closest the Trojans would get the rest of the frame was three points. An attack error by Jayln Knight put Carson-Newman ahead 1-0 in the match.
The Trojans came out in the second stanza winning four of the first five points. After the Eagles came back to tie the score at seven, the two sides traded the next 20 rallies to tie the score at 17. Anderson reeled off three straight points which would be all the Trojans needed to win set two in a set that featured 12 ties.
With the score tied at five in the third set, Anderson ran off five consecutive points to get out to a 10-5 lead. Carson-Newman pulled even at 13 on a kill by Locke. It marked the last time the two sides were tied despite the fact that the Trojans never won more than two straight points. Anderson held on after setter Priscilla Irizarry dumped a ball over the net to take a 2-1 match lead.
Carson-Newman notched its first match with 70 or more kills since a four-set victory over Anderson on November 7, 2014 finishing with 73 on the night. The Eagles hit .189 with 99 digs and five service aces.
The block played a huge roll as the Eagles had 15 or more blocks for the first time since recording 15.5 versus Newberry on October 25, 2013 finishing the night with 16 rejections. Carson-Newman tallied 10 solo blocks, the most since piling up 12 at Maryville on October 27, 2011.
Patton and junior middle blocker Maddie Borch (Walnut Creek, Calif.) each had four solo blocks. It was the most solo blocks by an individual since Sabina Papala recorded five against Newberry on October 19, 2012.
Locke led the Eagles with 25 kills while hitting .290 to go along with 27 digs. Locke became the fourth player in program history earlier this season to record a match with at least 20 kills and 20 digs in a match. The senior is the first Carson-Newman player to ever record a pair of such matches in the same season.
Patton finished with a career-high 61 assists becoming the first Carson-Newman player with at least 60 assists since Kari Gibson had 62 at Lincoln Memorial on October 17, 2006. She also had 14 digs and a career-high 5.5 total blocks.
Borch finished with 17 kills while hitting .368 coupled with a career-high eight digs and five total blocks. Harris matched her career-high with 15 kills to go along with two solo blocks and four block assists.
Anderson was led by Marissa Mitter's 29 kills on a .288 attack percentage coupled with 15 digs. The 29 kills tied former Carson-Newman player Carly Mozgai's SAC Tournament record for kills in a match. The total is good for the eighth-highest total in a SAC contest of any kind.
The only other Trojan with at least 10 kills was Serena Jackson who finished with 11. Irizarry finished with 52 assists and 17 digs while Tinsley Hallman had 29 digs.
Anderson finished with 61 kills, 13 blocks, 106 digs and six service aces while hitting .165 on the night.
No. 3 seed Lenoir-Rhyne swept Queens Friday night to set up a quarterfinal contest between the Bears and Eagles at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The match will have live video and stats with a link to the video here and the stats here as the Eagles seek a championship match appearance for the first time since 2009.
Team Stats
Anderson (S.C.)
| Game Statistics | Anderson (S.C.) | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .165 | .189 |
| Blocks | 13.0 | 16.0 |
| Digs | 106 | 99 |
| Aces | 6 | 5 |
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