Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A midweek tilt against the Mars Hill Lions (5-14, 3-9 South Atlantic Conference) is the conclusion of a seven-match road trip for the Carson-Newman Eagles (17-3, 11-1 SAC) Tuesday night at 7 p.m. inside of Stanford Arena.

Since Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers took over the heading coaching position prior to the start of the 2014 campaign, the Eagles are 16-0 away from the friendly confines in league contests.

Overall on the year, the Eagles have an .833 winning percentage ranking 17^th in the NCAA in that category and are closing in on the school's 10^th 20-win season.

With a win versus Mars Hill on October 20, the Eagles can secure their 10th winning season in South Atlantic Conference action in the program's 26 seasons as a member of the league. Carson-Newman had a string of five straight winning years in league from 2001 to 2005 and a three-year streak from 2008 to 2010. A win Tuesday would mark the second straight year with a winning season in SAC play.

The Eagles lead the all-time series over the Lions 35-20 with the Eagles winning all three matches in 2014 and five of the last six contests.

The last meeting between the two sides came in the opening round of the 2014 SAC Tournament with Carson-Newman pulling out a sweep as Rachel Harper had 16 kills and 13 digs

In a five-set win in Stanford Arena in 2014, the Eagles were 21-16 in the fourth set before a 6-1 run kept the match alive for the Eagles to prevail.

The Lions have won just one time in their last 11 matches, a home sweep of Coker on October 16, including six sweeps over that span.

Mars Hill has one of the least successful blocks in the country ranking 267th out of 283 teams with a blocks per set average of 1.08.               

As a team this year, Mars Hill is averaging 18.33 digs per set ranking 23rd in the country and fourth in the league in that category.

Offensively, Lauren Hochstetler leads the team 204 total kills this season ranking eighth in the conference in that category having been set 758 times. The only players in the SAC with more swings this year is Brevard's Fatima Gharachorloo's 905 and Newberry's Logan Hayward's 799.          

Junior Mary Kate Griffin was a second-team All-SAC selection a year ago but has not been able to match last season's output averaging just 2.46 kills per set on a .152 attack percentage.

Mars Hill will provide a live stats for the match that fans can view by clicking here for coverage of the contest. Fans are encouraged to follow @CNathletics and @CarsonNewmanVB on Twitter for live updates during the match.