JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—After a week off following an 11-day voyage through the Sunshine State to begin the season, the Carson-Newman beach volleyball team will be back in action this weekend competing in four contests at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, S.C.
The Eagles (5-4) will begin the tournament with match up against Jacksonville (4-6) Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. The Dolphins were winners in their last outing on March 22, sweeping Spring Hill 5-0 in a pair of afternoon duals. Coached by Julie Darty, Jacksonville is in its second year of the beach program and sports a roster loaded with seven underclassmen.
The University of Alabama Birmingham (5-6) will then take on the Eagles later in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The Blazers took down South Atlantic Conference foe Lincoln Memorial 5-0 in their last outing on March 20. Carson-Newman and UAB squared off one time a season ago where the Blazers got the better half of the Eagles in the 5-0 win on March 21 last season.
Sunday's duals will begin at 11:00 am with Texas Christian University (6-3) as the Eagles will try and keep pace with Horned Frog's coach Erik Peterson's 18 players on the roster. Now in its second season of the program, TCU is looking to continue to rebound from the 0-11 record in 2015.
Host team South Carolina (10-4) will then round out the Gamecock Invitational for the Eagles with a Sunday afternoon contest beginning at 1:0 p.m.
The Gamecocks have won their last two outings over the College of Charleston 4-1 (3/22) and Jacksonville State 5-0 (3/20). South Carolina beat C-N 5-0 on March 20 last season and have a bevy of players on their roster for now what is their third season in the beach program. Coached by Moritz Moritz, the Gamecocks boast 20 players on the 2016 roster which includes seven true freshman.
Though Carson-Newman will be playing four Division I programs this weekend, it has not altered the way the players have been preparing according to assistant coach Kirby Toribio.
"We have to prepare just as hard as we would normally," Toribio said. "There is going to have to be more of a fight because we know the competition will be a little harder, the scores will be higher and the fact that there will be third games. We can do it, we just have to put forth more effort in the long sets and rallies."
With five wins already into the 2016 campaign, the Eagles have already doubled their win total of a season ago (2) through two weekends of the season.
"This year so far has been different than last year. I wouldn't say for better or worse, but it has been different," Toribio said. "Last year we started from nothing and this year we have a little bit more experience. It's neat to see how the returners have taken the new girls under their wing this season."
A big reason for the success Carson-Newman has experienced thus far into the season can be attributed to the freshman duo of All King (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Katie Will (Clearwater, Fla.). The teammates started the season as the team's No. 2 duo but has since moved into the top-spot to record a 7-2 record on the season.
"They know the game and they work really well together," Toribio said. "With those two factors, it works. As a pair, what I love about them is that they are resilient. They work hard and want to win."
A full recap following each day of action can be found on cneagles.com and on twitter at @CarsonnewmanVB.
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