VIDEO: Dan Ahiers Interview

Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (12-4, 8-1 South Atlantic Conference) journey to the Anderson Trojans (13-4, 6-3 SAC) Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and to the Newberry Wolves (9-8, 3-6 SAC) Saturday at 2:00 p.m. looking to maintain momentum from a sweep of Lincoln Memorial Tuesday night.

"It was good to see how mentally tough they are," head coach Dan Ahiers said of the performance against the Railsplitters. "They came out with a purpose. It was a rivalry match. We played great defense and despite of our lack of offensive firepower we got a win."

The Eagle backline is the youngest position group on the team with a pair of sophomores and two juniors making up the group of liberos. Carson-Newman is averaging 17.05 digs per set this season. If that number holds, this team would set a new standard during the 25-point rally scoring system (since the 2008 season) that would better the 16.9 digs per frame set by the 2009 team.

"They were great early on in the season and then they kind of took a dip," Ahiers said of the four players. "Their defense and serve receive wasn't there. I think it was part of the training. They weren't mentally into practice and training, but they have really bounced back the past couple of weeks."

Leading that back group is sophomore libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) who ranks fifth in the conference this season with 4.85 digs per set. In conference play this season, Lowe has averaged 5.80 digs per set which is bettered by only two people in the league.

Carson-Newman will need another strong showing this weekend as Anderson enters the weekend third in the conference with a .218 attack percentage and boast senior middle blocker Hailey Pittman's .434 hitting percentage which ranks fourth nationally.

The Trojans and Eagles will square off for the 14^th time in history with Anderson holding a 7-6 edge including four straight match victories dating back to a Carson-Newman sweep on October 21, 2011.

Anderson has won four of its last five matches while ranking second in the conference with 123 total blocks this season.

The team with the most rejections this year is Saturday's foe, Newberry who has 134 total blocks. Saturday's contest marks the 46^th all-time meeting in a lopsided Eagle advantage of 39-7 despite Newberry winning the last three matches in five sets.

Sophomore outside hitter Logan Hayward has led the way with 2.42 kills per set this season while senior middle blocker Jessica King leads the block with 1.18 per set.

Be sure to follow @CNathletics on Twitter for updates on the matches this weekend and all of the most current Eagle news.

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