VIDEO: Sara Fairley Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A four-set contest was won by the Carson-Newman Eagles (16-4, 12-1 South Atlantic Conference) over the Queens (N.C.) Royals (5-16, 2-11) 25-11, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-18 Friday night at Holt Fieldhouse.

"We had several opponents tonight," head coach Dan Ahiers said of the match. "We had to battle Queens and also had to battle our own serving mistakes. We served 20 balls out of bounds and still won in four. That's pretty impressive."

The first set was no contest as the Eagles won the first four points to take control and ended the set on a 12-2 run punctuated with a kill from freshman outside hitter Kyrie Pennington (Charlotte, N.C.). Senior outside hitter Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led the way with three kills and three digs.

Carson-Newman was constantly playing from behind in the second set as Queens led wire-to-wire. The frame was tied at 20 before the Royals reeled off five of the final seven rallies to take the set. Senior middle blocker Jenna Wilson (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) paced the Eagle offensive attack with four kills.

The home unit took an early lead that held up until an attack error by Wilson saw the score deadlocked at 22. A kill from junior outside hitter Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) capped the set for the Eagles in a stanza where she had six kills and four digs.

Ahiers' bunch maintained a multiple point advantage for much of the fourth set in a frame that concluded with a kill by junior middle blocker Kiayna O'Neal (Katy, Texas).

Fairley notched her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs while hitting .304 with four block assists.

"I attribute that to my teammates," Fairley said of her solid effort. "I couldn't have done it without them. Their effort and passion for the game encouraged me to play harder."

Pickett tallied her eighth double-double of the year with 37 assists and 10 digs while matching a season-high with four service aces.

Harper finished with a game-high 14 kills and nine digs while Wilson had 10 kills, eight block assists and a solo block.

The Royals were held to a .016 attack percentage as Megan Mancini collected a game-high 24 digs.

Carson-Newman is back in action Saturday afternoon against Catawba at 1 p.m. and Belmont Abbey at 5 p.m. You can catch both affairs by visiting cneagles.com/live.

- CN -