ALLENDALE, Mich. – In their opening day of competition, the Carson-Newman Eagles (1-1) began their season with a five-set victory over the Quincy Hawks (0-2) before falling to the seventh-ranked Grand Valley State Lakers (1-1) in straight sets Friday at the Laker Riverfront Classic.
"It was a good day," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "We got better and we figured several things out about our team. We have to remember to be strong and courageous. We cannot be frightened or dismayed because God will be with us no matter where we go this season. We just have to come together as a team and believe."
Match No. 1 – Carson-Newman 3, Quincy 2
Carson-Newman jumped out to a 17-7 advantage on a kill by senior Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) in the first set. After a timeout by Quincy, the Eagles saw their lead shrink to 23-20 before an attack error and a kill by Locke solidified a 25-20 opening set victory that saw the Eagles hit .286.
Junior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) notched her 1,000th career dig midway through the first set as she piled up seven digs in the frame.
The second set saw each team match the other's punches with no side leading by more than three points until the Hawks reeled off four straight after the stanza was deadlocked at 15 to go ahead 19-15. Carson-Newman cut the lead to two twice, but a kill by Gianna Lincoln sealed a 25-22 win for the Hawks.
In the third stanza, Ahiers's group surged out to a 10-5 lead. Quincy responded by winning eight of the next 10 points to gain a 13-12 edge. Carson-Newman would not lead the rest of the way despite clawing back to within a point at 22-21 before falling 25-21.
The Eagles forced a fifth set despite trailing most of the fourth set falling behind 18-14 before a 6-0 spurt gave them the lead at 20-18. A kill from freshman middle blocker Allie Foster (Johnson City, Tenn.) sealed a 25-23 fourth-set victory.
The decisive final frame was tight, but the Eagles used a 4-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. It was an edge that Carson-Newman never relinquished as the 27th kill of the night by Locke put the finishing touches on a 15-13 victory and the squad's first win of the season.
Locke finished with a match-high 27 kills and 20 digs in her debut. The College Grove, Tenn. native became the first Carson-Newman player to record a match with 20 kills and 20 digs since assistant coach Rachel Harper had 22 kills and 25 digs in a five-set match against Newberry on October 19, 2012. She also became the first player with 25 or more kills since Carly Mozgai had 29 at Catawba on November 12, 2010.
Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) finished one dig shy of a double-double as she racked up a career-high 53 assists.
Senior outside hitter Sara Fairley notched her third career double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs. Lowe finished with a match-high 24 digs while freshman middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) had 10 kills.
Quincy was led by Bekah Raebel's 20 kills on a .543 attack percentage and Cassandra Cahill's 53 assists and 14 digs.
Match No. 2 – No. 7 Grand Valley State 3, Carson-Newman 0
A 4-1 string for the Lakers in the opening set forced a timeout from Ahiers with the home team leading 16-13. Carson-Newman clawed within two points nine times during the rest of the set, but Grand Valley State held off the Eagles 25-22.
Carson-Newman took an 8-4 lead to begin the second stanza, but Grand Valley State exploded for an 11-2 run to take control of the set 15-10. The visiting group could not recover as the Lakers coasted to a 25-17 victory to go up 2-0.
Once again the third set was tight early with Eagles staying with a couple points until a 6-1 jaunt by the Lakers put Grand Valley State ahead 17-11. It was a deficit that Carson-Newman never quite dented falling 25-19.
Nine kills from Harris and eight kills and 12 digs from Fairley led the way for the Eagles. Lowe picked up 12 more digs to tie with Fairley for the team lead.
Staci Brower led the way for the Lakers with 15 kills on a .520 attack percentage.
Carson-Newman concludes its opening weekend with two matches Saturday afternoon at the Laker Riverfront Classic. A noon tilt with Lock Haven followed by a 4 p.m. first serve against Bemidji State are the slate.
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