VIDEO: Marnie Streeter Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The countdown to the start of the 2016 season for Carson-Newman volleyball is down to one week marking the conclusion of the position previews with a look at the outside hitters with freshman Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.).
The position is looking to replace a pair of prolific players and the top two individuals on the 2015 roster in kills as Molly Locke and Sara Fairley graduated after combining for 872 of the team's 1,837 kills.
Locke was a three-time South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week, an all-region performer and the Hero Sports Division II Outside Hitter of the Year. Locke is on the coaching staff looking to parlay her wisdom to the younger group.
"She's really good at thinking about the shots she wants to take," Streeter said. "Watching her play and thinking how she thinks and is a really smart player. Me and Kendall [Cooley] are really taking that into account and using it ourselves."
Fairley was a two-time conference player of the week, the SAC Scholar Athlete and a member of the NCAA Division II Championship All-Tournament Team last season.
Looking to fill those shoes are three freshman and two sophomores as the quintet enter with a total of 41 matches of collegiate experience.
Sophomore Allie Foster (Johnson City, Tenn.) possesses 35 contests of experience playing in 119 sets as a rookie a season ago on the right side finishing third on the team with 120 kills and fourth with 53 total blocks. At six-foot-one, Foster led the team in blocks on five occasions and set a career high with three total rejections on Sept. 25 against Wingate.
The only other returnee from the 2015 team is sophomore Ally King (Cincinnati, Ohio) who saw time in six matches as a rookie and expects to compete in the back row as a defensive specialist.
Streeter rides a laundry list of accolades into the beginning of her freshman season. An All-State selection as a sophomore, junior and senior in Virginia, the rookie was the conference MVP her final two seasons and broke the school record with 1,332 career kills.
"It's been a lot of fun," Streeter said of adapting to college. "Everyone's been really welcoming and it's been a lot faster paced so it's hard to get used to, but everyone's been helping out so that makes it a lot easier."
Vying for time on the pin is freshman Kendall Cooley (Castle Rock, Colo.) who was a two-time Academic All-State honoree while helping the Sabercats to four regional tournaments and the 2013 Colorado State Tournament.
Rounding out the class of freshman is Abbie McFarlane (McKinney, Texas). The Lone Star State native was an Academic All-State performer as a senior while helping ending a 17-year playoff drought in aiding a district championship in 2015.
"They are the nicest people," Streeter said of her young teammates. "We are already so close and I feel like I've known them forever. I think we are going to be a really good freshman class and bring a lot to the team."
The preseason all-conference teams and preseason polls will be announced on Tuesday Aug. 30. The Eagles hop on a bus to travel to Pensacola, Fla. two days later to compete in the Hampton Inn-Vitational hosted by West Florida with their first match on Sept. 2 at 9 a.m. against the defending national champions, Wheeling Jesuit.
- CN -
