VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference
AIKEN, S.C. – Fourth-seeded Carson-Newman saw a 2-0 match lead disappear before taking the fifth set against fifth-seeded Armstrong State Friday evening at the Convocation Center to advance to the Regional Semifinals for the second straight season. It is the second time in program history the Eagles (27-7) have won an NCAA Tournament match, also doing so in 2009 and 2010, in back-to-back years defeating the Pirates (18-11) 25-19, 25-21, 17-25, 20-25 and 15-10.
The two teams were deadlocked at eight when the Eagles reeled off three straight in the fifth set to take an 11-8 advantage. Carson-Newman won four of the final five points of the set with a pair of kills by senior outside hitter Sara Fairley (Charlotte, N.C.) capping the contest.
"It was a great match," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "It was an absolutely great match to play Armstrong. They're a great team. They're well-coached. They've got some really big hitters on that team. It was a fun match to coach. Obviously it's a little more fun because we won."
Three individuals set new program-benchmarks for statistics in an NCAA Tournament contest in the victory over the Pirates in the program's ninth postseason match.
Junior middle blocker Maddie Borch (Walnut Creek, Calif.) set a program-record for an NCAA Tournament match while tying her career-high with 22 kills on a .375 attack percentage. She is the first player in program history to record at least 20 kills in an NCAA Tournament contest.
"At first I was really intimidated because of their height," Borch said. "A lot of support from my back row and coverage on balls. I was just prepared to swing at every ball. I wasn't afraid to hit it hard because I knew if I was going to get blocked from their front row my back row would back me up."
Sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) surpassed Lara McDonald's NCAA Tournament match-high of 47 assists with 49 helpers and 21 digs on the night for the Eagles.
Junior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) shattered Sherry Trimble's mark of 26 digs posting a career-high 34 digs on the night.
Fairley piled up 15 kills and 14 digs while matching the program's NCAA Tournament record with four service aces.
Senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) notched her 16th double-double of the year with 13 kills and 18 digs.
Carson-Newman won five of the first six rallies of the night to take a four-point lead. Armstrong promptly responded by winning seven of the next eight to take an 8-6 advantage in the first set. The two sides traded 16 straight rallies to see the score tied at 19. At that point the Eagles won six in-a-row to close out the first set 25-19 on a kill by Locke.
Armstrong was forced to use a timeout four rallies into the second stanza as part of a 7-1 beginning for Carson-Newman. The Pirates battled back to pull within two points on six occasions in the set but the Eagles consistently had the answer. With a 23-21 edge the No. 4 seed saw freshman middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) notch back-to-back kills to put Carson-Newman ahead 2-0 in the match.
The Eagles once again raced out to a big lead to start the third set jumping out to a 6-1 lead. Armstrong responded with seven of the next nine to tie the score at nine. Carson-Newman faced its first deficit of the frame at 11-10 during a sequence that saw the Pirates take a 15-11 lead. The No. 5 seed would lead by as many seven and closed the set winning four consecutive points to send the match to a fourth set.
The theme of the match held true in the fourth set as Carson-Newman took an early 4-1 advantage. Once again Armstrong came back to tie the score at eight but the Eagles reeled off six of the next seven to go ahead 14-9. The Pirates won nine of the next 11 rallies to take an 18-15 lead. Armstrong led by multiple points the rest of the way and won the set 25-20.
Carson-Newman finished with 67 kills on a .205 attack percentage while piling up 101 digs, seven blocks and six service aces. Armstrong finished with 58 kills on a .205 hitting percentage with 101 digs, seven blocks and four service aces.
Raegan Grooms paced Armstrong's offensive attack with 14 kills on a .394 attack percentage coupled with 16 digs. Iva Scepanovic led all players with 41 digs on the night.
Carson-Newman plays eighth-seeded Erskine, who became the first No. 8 seed this year to defeat a No. 1 seed when they swept the University of South Carolina Aiken, Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m.
The Eagles as the No. 4 seed are the highest seed remaining as sixth-seeded Lander will face seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne in the early match Saturday.
It will be the third all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Flying Fleet as Carson-Newman has won the prior two meetings. In the last meeting between the two programs, Carson-Newman swept Erkskine on Oct. 6, 2012 sweep and won in four sets on Sept. 3, 2011.
Live stats can be found here with a video link provided here.
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