JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman College volleyball team fell behind early, came back with a vengeance Tuesday night at Holt Field House. Just a few points away from going down two sets to zero, the Lady Eagles buckled down, winning three consecutive sets to finish off Mars Hill 17-25, 25-23, 26-24 and 25-13 in a South Atlantic Conference match up.
Carson-Newman is now 7-6 on the season and 2-5 in the SAC. The loss drops the Lady Lions to 4-5 and 1-5 in the conference.
The Lady Eagles fell quickly in the first game 25-17 as Mars Hill hit over .500 as a team, but the Lady Eagles started fast to win game two, 25-23, after jumping out 5-0.
In game three, C-N had to hold off a rally from Mars Hill, with senior right-side hitter Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.), senior middle hitter Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) and junior outside hitter Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) providing the defense and the muscle. Bowlin finished with 17 digs. Swisher had 12 kills and James had 10.
Sophomore setter Courtney Lawson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and freshman setter Kristen Pickett (Cleveland, Tenn.) set up kill shots all night. Lawson finished with 19 assists and Picket led both teams with 22.
It was the back court that kept the Lady Eagles alive. C-N recorded 75 digs as a team, with Lawson recording 12 and freshman outside hitter Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Springs,
Colo.) picking up 10 with freshman outside hitter Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Pickett each putting up 11 digs apiece.
The Lady Eagles got three points on blocks, with all three coming from James. She finished the match with 11 blocks.
Mars Hill's Marissa Wixon had a game-high 16 kills to lead the Lions. Chelsea Larsen added 10. Maggie Murphy had a team-high 19 digs for the Lions.
Carson-Newman will next see action at Lenoir-Rhyne Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. The Lady Eagles will play at Brevard on Oct. 1 and in the Pepsi Bash at the Beach in West Palm Beach, Fla.on Oct 7-8. C-N returns home with a conference game against Lincoln Memorial at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 11.
