JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set, but couldn't put away visiting Newberry College, falling 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse.
The Wolves rallied from a 10-6 deficit in the fifth set to improve to 12-12 and 5-9 in SAC play. C-N falls to 14-11 overall and 5-9 in SAC play.
No one came up larger for Newberry than freshman Lauren Prachar (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Prachar had a career day for the Wolves. The freshman had a career high 23 kills.
Prachar's 23 kills overshadowed another outstanding day for sophomore Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.). The sophomore had 18 kills and had one of her most efficient days of the season hitting .317. Parrish sits at 321 kills for the season. That total is good enough for ninth all time on Newberry's single season kills list.
Senior Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) had 18 kills for the Lady Eagles, while freshman Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Spring, Colo.) had a career high 15 kills to lead the C-N offense.
While Prachar and Parrish are the usual suspects, Newberry got huge performances from setter Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) and libero Elayni Stokes (Houston, Texas).
Browning made life easier on the Newberry hitters notching a season high 55 assists. Stokes had 28 digs in a tightly contested match where the Wolves needed every opportunity it could get.
It looked for a while like Newberry would fall in to its old habits. The Wolves stormed out to a 2-0 lead but Carson-Newman clawed back in squeaking out the third set 25-23 before rolling through the Wolves 25-16 in set four.
Newberry reached down deep to overcome its fifth set doldrums. The Wolves had been 0-6 in five set matches before today's win. It didn't come easy as the Eagles fought off three match points before Stokes' service ace gave Newberry the match.
The win pulls the Wolves (12-12, 5-9 SAC) in to a seventh place tie with Carson-Newman. Newberry will return to action next Wednesday against Lander. Carson-Newman faces rival Tusculum on Tuesday in Greeneville, Tenn.
