JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman College Volleyball Team (18-7, 11-3 SAC) withstood strong rallies from Brevard College (12-14, 1-13 SAC) Saturday afternoon as it defeated the Tornados, 3-0 (25-23, 29-27, 25-23), in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse. With the win, the Lady Eagles retain sole possession of second place in the league.

The match was back and forth from the first serve to the final block as there were 27 ties and 12 lead changes throughout the three sets.

Brevard jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and held the advantage until C-N tied the score at 18. From there the Lady Eagles held the momentum, going on to win by a 25-23 score. BC’s Brooke Seaman (Spring Hill, Fla.) had 8 kills on 12 attempts in the first set alone, but could not will the Tornados to win the frame.

With a 24-22 lead in the second set, it seemed as if BC was going to tie the match score at one set apiece, but Carson-Newman would not say die. The Lady Eagles reeled off three straight points to take a 25-24 lead. The two teams traded side-outs over the next four points before C-N had another three-point run to take the set. Senior middle Katie Troyer (Plain City, Ohio) answered the bell in the second set with six kills as four other Lady Eagles had three kills each.

Carson-Newman was able to take the third stanza thanks to two five-point serving runs by senior setter Stephanie Cutter (Mufreesboro, Tenn.) and 5.5 blocks as a team including a huge triple block by Troyer, senior outside hitter Jessica Schachleiter (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore right side Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) on the final point of the match. The Lady Eagles mustered up the strength to survive a late run by the Tornados for the victory.

James and junior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) each tallied 10 kills to lead C-N offensively while James had four blocks as well. Troyer finished the night with eight kills and four blocks of her own while Cutter recorded a double-double with 35 assists and 13 digs.

Freshman libero MacKenzie Tyree (Daleville, Va.) led all players with 16 digs while Schachleiter had 12 digs and seven kills as well for the Lady Eagles.

Brevard was paced by Seaman with 14 kills and Chelsea Larsen (Greer, S.C.) with 10 kills of her own. Bethany Stephenson (Prattville, Ala.) had a match-high 36 assists and Rebecca Schoonover (Palm City, Fla.) posted 14 digs to lead the Tornados.

Carson-Newman will end its three-match home streak Tuesday when it steps out of SAC action to face King College in the final home match of the season. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.