JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (8-2, 5-1 South Atlantic Conference) fell for the first time in league play losing to the Wingate Bulldogs (10-2, 5-1 SAC) 25-15, 19-25, 22-25 and 13-25 Friday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
"Momentum is the biggest part of tonight," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "We did very well in that first set. Second set was back-and-forth until they kind of pulled ahead. We came out in that third set and had a lot of momentum. We were up 20-17. They closed it out on us better than we did in that third set and they carried that momentum right into the fourth set."
The first set was never tied with zero lead changes as Carson-Newman dominated using five blocks while holding Wingate to a .028 attack percentage. The Eagles gained separation by winning six of seven points to take a 22-13 advantage. A kill by senior outside hitter Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) sealed the opening set. Freshman middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) had five kills on seven attacks in the set.
The second stanza saw four ties and two lead changes despite Wingate leading most of the way. The Bulldogs used six blocks to hold the Eagles to a .140 attack percentage in the set. Wingate led by five points on two occasions including at 18-13 before the Eagles trimmed the lead to one with a 4-0 run. The Bulldogs won the next three points after a Carson-Newman timeout and took the set on a Carson-Newman attack error.
Carson-Newman led the majority of a tight third frame including 20-18, but Wingate won five of the next six points to take a 23-21 advantage. A kill from Katie Bludau sealed the set and gave the Bulldogs the lead in the match.
In the fourth set, Wingate led wire-to-wire winning eight of the first 10 points. Carson-Newman closed the gap to 11-8 before the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to regain control. The visiting team never looked back and closed out the match on a kill from Shelly Stumpff.
Carson-Newman lost for just the third time in 31 tries since the beginning of 2014 after going ahead 1-0 in the match.
Wingate hit .219 in the match compared to .110 for Carson-Newman while the Bulldogs tallied 14 blocks versus eight for the Eagles.
Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) notched her third double-double of the season with 35 assists and 15 digs.
Harris tallied 13 kills and two block assists, Fairley had nine kills and five digs and senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) had nine kills and seven digs.
Junior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) added 17 digs.
Wingate saw three players reach double figures in kills with Stumpff tallying 16 kills and 10 digs. Iris Brewer added a double-double with 36 assists and 16 digs.
Carson-Newman takes on Coker at 1 p.m. and Montevallo at 5 p.m. Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse with both matches being broadcast by the Eagle Sports Network.
- CN -
_of_Lindsey_Wells_story.jpg?max_width=280&max_height=160&crop=true)
