Lady Eagles Defeat Maryville College, 3-1

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman volleyball team cruised to a two-set lead on its way to a 3-1 (25-14, 25-16, 19-25, 25-19) victory over Maryville College on Tuesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.

With the win, Lady Eagles improve to 7-3 on the season. Maryville falls to 3-10.

C-N head coach Shannon Mincey said her team needs to do a better job closing out opponents, especially after trailing just once in the first two sets.

"We became complacent after the second set and definitely took our success for granted," Mincey said. "Maryville was very strong on their defense in the third set and they controlled the gym for the third set. We focused on coming together in the fourth set, and I was pleased with our response to get the win."

Senior Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.), who was honored before the match for recording her 1,000th career kill last week against Tusculum, led the way with a double-double, producing 18 kills and 14 digs.

"I was pleased with Carly Mozgai," Mincey said. "She stepped up and showed us some leadership with her intensity."

Junior Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) added 13 kills, while junior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) delivered 12 kills and had a match-high four blocks. Sophomore libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) finished the night with 25 digs, and Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) produced 13 digs and six kills.

Freshman Courtney Lawson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and senior Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) dished out 27 and 22 assists, respectively, to lead the Lady Eagles.

Kristin Findley (Maryville, Tenn.) collected 12 kills and 11 digs to lead the Scots, while Teri Lind (Melbourne, Fla.) tallied 22 assists.

The Lady Eagles stormed out to a strong start as they had hitting percentages of .323 and .368 in the first two sets on their way to taking a 2-0 lead. C-N led by as many as 11 points in the first set at 24-13 before a kill by Mozgai brought the game to a close.

C-N built an eight-point lead late in the second set before Maryville pulled to within 23-16 on a Lady Eagle service error, but Mozgai and Bowlin delivered back-to-back kills to give C-N a 2-0 lead.

Maryville bounced back and never trailed in the third set as it built an early 10-3 lead. C-N pulled to within 23-19 on an ace by McDonald. However, the Scots claimed the set with kills by Findley and Lind.

The teams battled through nine ties and three lead changes in the fourth set, but with the game tied at 17, the Lady Eagles outscored Maryville 8-2 the rest of the way to win the match.

"I think the fourth set was a great team effort," Mincey said. "I think that everyone was into it. We realized we all needed to step up and play what we've been practicing for."

The Lady Eagles return to South Atlantic Conference action on Friday as they host Newberry. Match time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.