TAVARES, Fla. - Despite taking an early lead, Carson-Newman beach volleyball dropped their sixth straight match of the season with a 4-1 loss to Tusculum on Sunday, Apr. 18.
"This weekend is not what we were wanting or hoping for but we still had some success," says head coach Cat Lind. "I am proud of the team and the fight they showed, especially against Tusculum and Tampa."
Sierra Still and Abby Struewing continued their strong weekend, rolling in straight sets 21-18 and 21-15. The win gave the pair a 4-1 weekend at AVCA, the highest winning percentage for any Eagle pair at the event. The win moves Still into the top three all-time in single season wins with 11.
The Pioneers tied things back up with a win at the no. three position, knocking off Lindsey Geurin and Mia Toribio in straight sets with two 21-17 victories.
Despite rolling to a 21-11 victory in the first set at the no. five position, Lauren Williams and Alanis Mendez dropped the next two sets 21-17 and 15-8.
Tusculum clinched the match with a win at the no. four position, as an early 21-14 win by Joy Rhodes and Morgan Siwiec was not enough for the pair to close the match out, dropping the final two sets 21-16 and 15-13.
Summer Coulter and Megan Oldenburger won the first set 26-24 at the no. one position, the pair's second set of the weekend to go over 21 points. Tusculum rallied to win the second set 21-18 before closing out the match with a 15-11 win.
The loss moves Carson-Newman to 1-11 all-time at AVCA. The current six match losing streak is the team's longest since dropping 13 straight in 2019.
"We know we have what it takes to win and the skills," says Lind. "We will improve our mental game and work on stopping runs. We will use what we learned this weekend to further our game and our growth as individuals and as a program."
The Eagles wrap up the season with the two day SAC Beach Challenge in Salisbury, N.C. The first match against Catawba is set to start at 5:30 P.M. on Friday, Apr. 30.
