INDIANAPOLIS — The Carson-Newman volleyball team remained at No. 6 in this week's NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, NCAA officials announced Wednesday.
The Lady Eagles closed out regular season play last weekend with a pair of South Atlantic Conference wins to improve to 18-9 overall and 10-8 in the conference.
Fellow SAC member Wingate University holds on to the top spot in the poll. The Bulldogs finished the regular season at 25-1 overall and 18-0 in the conference and have won 23 straight matches.
Defending regional champion Flagler College is ranked second, while Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial and Montevallo round out the top five.
Also listed from the SAC are Catawba (seventh) and Anderson (ninth).
The conference tournament champion from the SAC, Peach Belt and Conference Carolinas will each be awarded automatic bids to the 2010 NCAA Division II Tournament, while the five remaining highest-ranked teams will receive at-large bids to the postseason.
The Lady Eagles open play in the 2010 SAC Food Lion Tournament on Friday against tournament host Catawba. Match time is set for 2:30 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C.
Lady Eagles among NCAA statistics leaders
Three Lady Eagles are listed in the NCAA statistics leaders. Junior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) leads the nation in blocks per set with an average of 1.72. As a team, C-N also leads the nation in blocks per set with an average of 2.78.
Senior Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) is 12th in the nation with an average of 4.17 kills per set, while sophomore Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) is 43rd in the nation with an average of 4.93 digs per set.
