The Lions Marissa Wixson, Regan Macomson and Toni Cole all finished with more than 12 kills, with Wixson notching a match high 19 kills – 10 of which came in the first set. 

"Their attacking kept us on our toes," Carson-Newman head coach Shannon Mincey said. "We didn't terminate blocks as we should have.  I'm very disappointed in this loss tonight.  It was a fun match (because of a home crowd that was into the game), but for us not to be able to get a win for them was disappointing. 

C-N showcased balance of its own offensively.  Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) nailed down 16 kills with Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) and Sabina Papala (Laziska Gorne, Poland) following behind with 13 and 12, respectively.

C-N hit .155 as a team compared to Mars Hill's .236 attack percentage. 

"Harper went in and did a nice job," Mincey said. "She did a good job offensively, but we needed more from her defensively.  We've got a lot to work on as our conference has a lot of parity to it."

Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) led the charge defensively for the Eagles, averaging seven digs/set with 28 for the four-set match. 

"She's trying to assume a lot more responsibility," Mincey said. "I know her heart and head are hanging tonight.  We need to have some kids back there to help her a little bit."

The Eagles return to Holt Fieldhouse Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. against the Brevard Tornados.  Live stats will be available at cneagles.com.