VIDEO: Lauren Santarelli Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After winning the first seven matches of South Atlantic Conference play, the Carson-Newman Eagles (11-4, 7-1 SAC) fell in straight sets 20-25, 15-25 and 19-25 Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse to the No. 10 Wingate Bulldogs (15-1, 8-0 SAC).
"What I like is we are still getting better throughout the season," head coach Dan Ahiers said after the loss. "We're not trying to peak right now. We're trying to peak at the end of the season."
The theme of the sets were spurts to start by Wingate. In the initial frame, Wingate went on a 5-0 run after the Eagles won the first rally. Carson-Newman closed the gap, but the Bulldogs closed strong. Junior outside hitter Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) led the way with four kills on five attacks.
Carson-Newman won the first two points of set two, but Wingate reeled off nine in a row to pull away early in a frame that saw the Eagles hit just .091.
The third stanza was tight for most of the set but a 7-1 run by Wingate gave the visiting unit a 20-14 advantage that the Eagles could not overcome.
Wingate hit .330 in the match which is the highest percentage by an opponent against the Eagles this season while Carson-Newman hit .130.
Senior outside hitter Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the way from Carson-Newman with nine kills while senior middle blocker Jenna Wilson (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) added eight kills.
"I think our team played well," Santarelli said about the effort. "I think we came out strong. I think we had a lot of big hits. They had some remarkable defense."
Senior setter Kristen Pickett (Cleveland, Tenn.) had 27 assists and six digs while sophomore libero Taylor Lowe added 11 digs.
Shelly Stumpff paced the visitors with 11 kills and 16 digs on a .417 attack percentage.
The Eagles begin a four-game road trip Tuesday evening when a trip to Harrogate, Tenn. has the Eagles taking on the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters.
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