Eagles conclude second season at Stevenson Sand Tournament

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Posted: Apr 21, 2016

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—The Carson-Newman beach volleyball team will conclude its program's second season with the Stevenson Sand Tournament this weekend in Baltimore, MD. as the Eagles will clash with Lincoln Memorial and Stevenson for the second time this season and be introduced to Morgan State for the first time during weekend's play.

"We are excited about our last trip of the season but it is also a little bittersweet," assistant coach Kirby Toribio said. "It has been neat to see over the course of the season how the girls have used the unique opportunities to play some incredible teams and they have done a good job of preparing for this weekend. We not only get to play LMU and Stevenson, but we also get to see a team that we haven't played yet this year."

The Eagles (7-12) are coming off four-straight losses at the Palmetto Invitational last weekend (April 16-17) where Carson-Newman fell to four Division I powers. Carson-Newman will be looking to end the season on a high-note which could potentially end the season with 11 total wins.

Competition will commence Saturday at 12:00 p.m. as the Eagles take on Morgan State for the first time this season. C-N will then tangle with LMU (3-15) immediately after for the second contest of the day.

The Eagles and the 'Splitters last met up in what was Carson-Newman's first ever home match at the Carson-Newman Sand Courts on April 9. The Eagles swept duel play with 5-0 and 4-1 wins on the day. LMU has now lost five matches in-a-row including a 4-1 defeat at Spring Hill on April 3.

Coached by Jenny Michael, LMU is competing in its first year of the beach program and fields a roster full of seven upperclassmen and six underclassmen. The three wins LMU has accounted for in the 2016 beach season has come against Webber International 3-2 (March 22), Eckerd 3-2 (March 26) and Jacksonville State 4-1 (April 2).

During the indoor campaign this past fall, the Eagles and the Railsplitters split in two contests. Carson-Newman took the first meeting at home on Sept. 3-2 while LMU got the better of the Eagles later in the season on its home court 3-0 on Oct. 27.

Sunday's activities will begin at approximately 10:30 a.m. as the Eagles go up against Stevenson (3-9) for the second time this season. The Mustangs dropped a pair of duels to C-N 4-1 and 5-0 to begin their season on March 13.

Stevenson lost its last outing of the season against Eckerd 5-0 on April 10 and sport one senior, three juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen on the roster. The Mustangs are coached by Dave Trumbo.

"Our goal is always been to climb as we go along in the season, indoor and outdoor," Toribio said. "I don't think we have reached our peak yet, so this weekend is a perfect opportunity for that. We can reach our peak and end our season strong."

A full recap at the conclusion of each match can be found on cneagles.com.

-CN-