JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After finishing 12-17 (7-15 SAC) and in ninth place a year ago, the SAC coaches pegged Carson-Newman to finish eighth this upcoming season.
"Our goals are to finish top three in conference," Carson-Newman head coach Dan Ahiers said of his expectations. "Our goal is to beat Wingate. Our goal is to make the NCAA Tournament. We hold ourselves to a higher standard. Those polls don't mean anything to us."
The Eagles return three of their top four players in terms of kills in senior outside hitter Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.), junior middle blocker Kiayna O'Neal (Katy, Texas) and senior outside hitter Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
The main loss for the squad was the graduation of Emily Schultz, a rightside hitter. The Atlanta, Ga. native tallied 213 kills, second-most on the team, and 50 blocks, good for the third highest tally.
"We have great leadership," Ahiers said of the returning group. "[The seniors] are leading the younger ones and they have really pushed themselves and pushed all of the players to be better. That's how I know we are going to be successful."
Ahiers's group has a strong contingent of upper classmen with nine of the 15 players on the roster either a junior or senior.
The Wingate Bulldogs were picked to win the conference receiving 11 first place votes. Wingate has won the SAC in six straight seasons while only losing two games since the end of the 2006 season.
Tusculum, a 2013 NCAA Volleyball Championship at-large selection, was slotted second with Lincoln Memorial in third place.
The Anderson Trojans came in fourth after finishing as the runner-up in SAC Tournament last season. The Trojans picked up one more point that Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears received the lone first place vote that was not given to Wingate.
A pair of 2013 NCAA Volleyball Championship participants, Queens and Newberry, finished in sixth and seventh place.
Catawba, Mars Hill, Brevard and Coker finished below Carson-Newman to round out the standings.
The start of the 2014 season is 18 days away with the Eagles making a journey to California to participate in the Route 92 Tournament where Carson-Newman will play four games over two days beginning September 5.
School Total
Wingate (11) 121
Tusculum 99
Linclon Memorial 94
Anderson 90
Lenoir-Rhyne (1) 89
Queens 70
Newberry 62
Carson-Newman 49
Catawba 48
Mars Hill 38
Brevard 18
Coker 14
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