GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Lindsey Geurin became the first ever Carson-Newman beach volleyball player to record their 30th career win as the Eagles went a perfect 2-0 on day one of the SAC Beach Challenge.
The convocation picked up a pair of 4-1 wins over Catawba and Lincoln Memorial for their fourth straight win of the season. C-N advances to the championship game of the SAC Beach Challenge tomorrow, Apr. 9, to take on Tusculum, who also went 2-0 on the opening day of the tournament.
GAME ONE: C-N 4, Catawba 1
The Eagles picked up their fifth win of the season and fifth straight win over Catawba College, defeating the Indians 4-1.
Geurin and Taylor Keeran knocked off Hayes Smith Katie Willingham in three sets at no. five. After falling in the first set 17-21, the duo rallied for a 22-20 win in the second set before closing out the match 15-9. With the win, Geurin becomes the first sand Eagle to win 30 games in a career.
Piper Halcrow and McKenna Hall (C-N) defeated Christina Knotts and Ruby Moore in straight sets 21-11, 21-13 at no. four, while Morgan Siwiec and Mia Toribio clinched the match at no. three with a win over Dara Kane and Raytchelle Miranda 21-12 and 21-11.
The Eagles suffered their lone setback with a loss at the no. two position. Ashley Johnson and Morgan Childress defeated Jenny Ille and Julia Wheeler in three sets, falling in the opening set 18-21 before taking the next two sets 21-10 and winning a marathon final set, 21-19.
Teaming up for just the third time this season at no. one, Abbey Hildenbrand and Sierra Still defeated Arianna Colon and Payton Medich 21-16 and 21-12 in straight sets.
With the win, the Eagles now hold a 5-2 all-time record over Catawba.
GAME TWO: C-N 4, Lincoln Memorial 1
Carson-Newman picked up their 14th win of the season, knocking off the Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial for the third time this season with a 4-1 win in the rain at Pioneer Beach.
Geurin and Keeran knocked off Kylie Bowins and Ketura Margaret in straight sets 21-16 and 21-12. With the win, Guerin and Taylor move to 16-6 on the season the most single season wins by a pair in program history. Geurin is now 31-16 all-time in her career, and the duo is 16-6 together this year.
Halcrow and Hall defeated Sevgi Koyuncu and Katie Bedel in straight sets 21-13 and 21-13. The duo are now 12-3 together this season, with six straight wins.
Siwiec and Toribio clinched the win for the Eagles with a three set win over Emily Walter and Emma Winford. The pair dropped the first set 19-21, but won the next two sets 21-17 and 15-10. The last two matches were the first time that Toribio and Siwiec had teamed up together since May 1, 2021 when the duo went 1-1 at the SAC Beach Challenge.
Ille and Wheeler once again dropped the lone match of the day at no. two, falling to Gabriela Abreu and Lydia Thurman in three sets. The Splitter duo took the first set 21-16 before falling 14-21. The LMU pair took the final set 15-8.
Hildenbrand and Sierra Still clinched their fourth victory of the season as a pair over Kristen Moerhing and Katie Cardenas in straight sets, winning both by a score of 21-15.
The Eagles will challenge Tusculum for the SAC Beach Challenge event championship, as both teams went 2-0 on the opening day. The two rivals will meet at Pioneer Beach at 1:00 PM on Saturday, Apr. 9.
