October 12, 2020

Ballard, James and Wilson highlight volleyball all-decade team

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Three of the most decorated players in the history of program highlight Carson-Newman volleyball’s all-decade team released Monday by the Carson-Newman Athletic Communications Office. Jenna Wilson, the only All-American in history, is joined by three-time all-region pick Morgan Ballard and two-time all-region all-selection Nikki James.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Three of the most decorated players in the history of program highlight Carson-Newman volleyball's all-decade team released Monday by the Carson-Newman Athletic Communications Office. Jenna Wilson, the only All-American in history, is joined by three-time all-region pick Morgan Ballard and two-time all-region all-selection Nikki James.

The 2010s decade produced a pair of NCAA Southeast Region Championships in 2015 and 2019 with a South Atlantic Conference Tournament Title in 2019. Overall, the Eagles went to five NCAA Tournaments winning eight postseason matches.

Each team was formatted as a traditional starting lineup with three pin hitters, two middles, one setter and one libero. The 14 members of the two teams tallied 12 all-region honors, 24 all-conference nods and numerous spots on the school's all-time record book.

Wilson played one season at Mossy Creek but set a new standard in an All-American campaign in 2014 for a team that finished 27-7 going 20-2 in SAC play. The middle blocker produced a .387 hitting percentage shattering the previous single-season record.

Ballard is the only player in history to earn all-region nods three times in her career. She finished her three seasons at Mossy Creek second all-time in digs with 2,375, while holding the career record by over a dig with 6.84 digs per set including three of the top four seasons in total digs and digs per set. As a senior for the Southeast Region champions, the Weaverville, N.C. native led the nation in digs with 772.

There will never be another player like Nikki James, a two-time all-region pick. The middle blocker has the top three seasons in total blocks and blocks per set highlighted by a 1.73 average in 2010. She leads all four blocking categories for a career by a wide margin with 224 solo blocks and 688 total rejections, nearly 200 more than any other player.

Carly Mozgai was named all-conference three times finishing fourth in career aces, kills and points. In 2010, she average 4.17 kills per set. No other Eagle has eclipsed four in a year.

Rachel Harper was one of the best point scorers in school history with over 1,500 to her name. She was named first-team All-SAC in 2014 tallying a pair of all-region selections.

In 2015, the year of the team's first region title, Molly Locke made a massive impact in her lone season with over 500 points, joining Mozgai as the only players on this list to hit that mark in a year, blasting 448 kills in an all-region campaign.

Rounding out the top team is one of the most consistent setters in program history, Kristen Pickett. She finished third all time in total assists with just shy of 4,000 in her four years as a starter. She was the primary setter for three of the players on the top team.

The second team featured 10 All-SAC picks led by three apiece from Marnie Streeter and Megan Oldenburger. Streeter took more swings than any player in history finishing fifth all-time in kills with 1,390. Oldenburger is 93 kills shy of 1,000 for her career having already produced 1,107 digs with one more year of eligibility left.

Erin Edwards registered one of the greatest seasons in history in 2019 earning an all-region honors and SAC Tournament MVP laurels with 16 double-digit kill efforts in her final 25 matches of the year.

Maddie Borch joined the roster in 2015 and was one of the key cogs to a potent offense in a region championship season where she hit .339 on 3.06 kills per set out of the middle.

Katie Parnell has proved to be one of the best blockers in the country during her first three years in the Orange and Blue with two of the top three blocking seasons for a player not named Nikki James. She ranked sixth in career blocks and is third in blocks per set.

Anna Patton was the starting setter during the 2015 title run producing 10.51 assists per set and 1,430 assists, both top five marks for a single year. She is one of four players with at least 3,000 career assists.

Taylor Lowe is third on the program's dig list and was the starting libero as a junior where she produced a program record for digs in an NCAA postseason match with 39. She played in 130 career matches, eighth in school history.

First Team

Carly Mozgai (2007-10): 3x All-SAC, 2010 All-Region, 4th in career aces, kills and points, 2010 C-N single-season record with 4.17 kills per set

Rachel Harper (2011-14): 2x All-SAC, All-Region, 5th all-time in aces, 8th in kills

Molly Locke (2015): All-SAC, All-Region, Top 10 for single season in kills and points

Nikki James (2007-11): 3x All-SAC, 2x All-Region, Owns six C-N records, C-N all-time leader in total blocks, solo blocks, block assists and blocks per set

Jenna Wilson (2014): All-American, Highest attack percentage in history (.387)

Kristen Pickett (2011-14): 2x All-SAC, All-Region, 2nd in career aces and 3rd in assists

Morgan Ballard (2017-19): 3x All-SAC, 3x All-Region, C-N all-time leader in digs per set, 2nd in total digs