CHARLESTON, S.C.— Carson-Newman (0-8) rounded out its second tournament of the season with a pair of losses to College of Charleston (8-0) and Huntingdon College (1-9) on the final day of the College of Charleston Tournament in Charleston, S.C.
In dual one, College of Charleston maintained their winning streak with a 5-0 win over the Eagles
Huntingdon College ended their season long losing streak of nine games with a 4-1 defeat against the Blue and Orange. Summer Coulter and Abby Struewing grasped another win against the Huntingdon pair, but the win was not enough to get the Eagles their first victory.
"It was a tough day overall," head beach volleyball coach Kody DuBarry said. "Being down a player really hurt us this weekend. However, I saw a lot of things we are getting better at."
Match 1- Col. of Charleston 5, C-N 0
For the eighth appearance this season, Lexy Headly and Taryn Nichols saw action at the No. 5 seed. They faced a defeat against Taylor Foley and Katja Ehlers 21-6, 21-8.
At the No. 4 seed Lauren Williams and Montgomery Sauter lost to former Carson-Newman player, Megan Morris and her partner, Mandy Napierala. The first set ended 21-13, while the second set saw similar results 21-14.
The No. 3 pairing of Grace Seymour and Dilyn Palmer scored the lowest score of the day. The first set ended with a 21-7 loss over the Cougar's duo. Allison Beckman and Logan Manusky capped the second set, 21-4 giving College of Charleston the official win 3-0. This gave Carson-Newman its first loss of the day.
A similar low scoring match came from Kelly Hughes and Aryana Fazelnia at the No. 2 flight. McKala Rhodes and Devon Rachel crushed the C-N group in hasty sets 21-9, 21-5.
Summer Coulter and Abby Struewing ended the dual with a 21-12, 21-11 defeat from Kennedy Madison and Lauren Freed.
Match 2- Huntingdon 4, C-N 0
Headly and Nichols began the second face-off of the day with strong back-to-back losses to the Hawks' duo. Alexis Creasman and April Reese beat the C-N twosome 21-16, 21-17.
At the No. 4 spot sat Lauren Williams and Montgomery Sauter. Shelby McAllister and Kaitlyn Carter brought a steady pace to the game while overcoming Williams and Sauter in comparable set scores 21-14, 21-14.
Seymour and Dilyn began to find their groove and gain more points, but ultimately fell in the first set 21-15. They could not gain energy in the second set and handed the game over to Amy Tyma and Lexie DeVuyst in the second set 21-13. This match gave the Huntingdon Hawks a 3-0 lead and its first win of the season.
The first three set page-turner came from Hughes and Fazelnia at the No. 2 position. The Eagles' tandem won the first set 21-17, but Nichole LeFevre and Addison Genard fought through adversity to win the set two 21-10. The third set went in favor of the Hawks' group 15-6.
The final face-off of Coulter and Struewing versus Cheyenna Scarbrough and Halee Hatcher gave C-N its second win of the weekend at the No. 1 seed. Coulter and Struewing defeated the Hawks' pair in a close first set 21-18. They carried their momentum into the second set to cap the win with a 21-14 finish.
"It was a blast to watch Summer and Abby play this weekend. They are starting to get in tune with one another," DuBarry said.
Although Coulter and Struewing appeared in the wining column, the Hawks received the overall win 4-1 over the Eagles.
"We will get back and look at the film and see what we need to focus on for the next two weeks in practice," DuBarry said.
The Carson-Newman Beach Volleyball team will take the next weekend off and face Tusculum University and Morehead State for the second time this season on March 23 and 24 at the Dig and Dive Invitational.
