JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – An early deficit was too much to overcome for the Carson-Newman Eagles (11-17, 6-15 South Atlantic Conference) Friday night at Holt Fieldhouse against the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (16-9, 13-8 SAC) as the Bears won 25-20, 25-21, 19-25 and 25-19.

"We definitely started a little bit sluggish," head coach Shannon Mincey said after the match. "Our feet were not under us. We tended to be just a little bit off defensively."

Lenoir-Rhyne used a pair of 7-1 runs in the opening stanza to hold off Carson-Newman. The Bears started the set with seven of eight points before the Eagles tied the set at 14 prior to a timeout by Bears' head coach Dave Markland. Out of the timeout, L-R again reeled off seven of eight rallies to take a 21-15 lead. Carson-Newman closed the gap to 21-19 on a service ace by junior outside hitter Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Springs, Colo.) before the visiting side finished with four of five points to take the first game.

Freshman middle JaLesa Beaver (Katy, Texas) and sophomore middle Kiayna O'Neal (Katy, Texas) each had three kills.

The Eagles captured their first lead of the match at 4-3 in the second set, but Lenoir-Rhyne battled back and used an 8-1 run to take a 14-8 lead. Carson-Newman was able to pull within three points on two occasions, but the Bears took the second set.

Mincey's group had five team blocks in the set as Beaver led the way with three kills and two block assists.

After falling behind 2-0, Carson-Newman used a 5-0 run to take a lead in the third frame and the Eagles were able to maintain the advantage throughout despite three ties. The home side won the set on a kill by Santarelli to extend the match to a fourth set.

Junior setter Kristen Pickett (Cleveland, Tenn.) dished out 12 assists including four to junior outside hitter Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.).

In a set that saw four ties, the Eagles were able to match the Bears punch-for-punch early to keep the score tied at 14 prompting a timeout by Markland. Lenoir-Rhyne responded with seven of nine points to take a 21-16 lead. Carson-Newman fended off two match points before Kiaya Robinson smacked her game-high 16^th kill of the match to give the Bears the win.

Harper finished with yet another double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs while Santarelli finished a kill shy of one of her own with 12 digs. Pickett tallied 42 assists while Beaver had 11 kills on a .455 attack percentage with one solo block and three block assists.

"Tomorrow I challenged my team," Mincey said about the season finale. "It's a must-win situation. We end on a high note with a win and with a little bit of fight. One, for our senior and two, for our program and the future."

Carson-Newman concludes its season with senior day for senior right side Emily Schultz (Atlanta, Ga.) Saturday afternoon at noon against Brevard. Live video is available by visiting cneagles.com/live.