ANDERSON, S.C. - The No. 2 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, Carson-Newman, was eliminated by third-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne 25-21, 25-19 and 25-17 in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Abney Center.
"It's disappointing to see us play so well as a team last night and then play as individuals today," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "I have to examine what I did differently to get them ready to play last night from tonight. Hopefully our name will get announced for the NCAA Tournament on Monday night and we will get a chance to end our season on a better note."
Lenoir-Rhyne (22-7) had 41 kills on a .270 hitting percentage with 61 digs, 10 blocks and one service ace while Carson-Newman (26-7) finished with 40 kills while hitting .130 with 59 digs, five blocks and two service aces.
Junior middle blocker Maddie Borch (Walnut Creek, Calif.) led all players with 15 kills on a .609 attack percentage, three solo blocks and four total blocks on the day. Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) tallied 34 assists and senior outside hitter Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) had nine kills and 11 digs.
Lenoir-Rhyne was led by 11 kills from Brooke Redmond, 10 kills from Morgan Bunker and 21 assists from Briana Gottberg.
The first set saw Lenoir-Rhyne win seven of the first 10 points but Carson-Newman raced back to tie the score at 13. The score would be tied four times and with the Bears holding a 19-18 lead they reeled off four of the next five points to seize control and took the opening set on a kill by Ashley Wells.
Carson-Newman held a 10-7 lead in the second set before a 10-2 run by Lenoir-Rhyne put the Bears in firm control with a 17-12 lead. The closest the Eagles would get the rest of the set would be three points as an attack error by senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) put the No. 3 seed ahead 2-0.
Five blocks from Lenoir-Rhyne in the third set held Carson-Newman to a .026 attack percentage. Borch was 6-for-6 in kills in the set while the rest of the team went 5-for-32 with 10 attack errors. The Eagles held an 8-5 lead but a 16-4 sequence by the Bears gave Lenoir-Rhyne all it needed to pull off the sweep.
Carson-Newman will learn its fate in the Division II Volleyball selection show which can be seen here at 7:30 p.m. Monday night. The Eagles were ranked fourth in last week's regional rankings seeking a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
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