SAC names Patton and Harris preseason all-conference selections

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Posted: Aug 30, 2016

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference released its 2016 preseason all-conference selections as voted on by the coaches Tuesday as junior setter Anna Patton was named a first-team selection and sophomore middle blocker Natalie Harris was pinned to the second-team.

Carson-Newman is one of four teams to have multiple players honored by the league as Wingate led the way with a total of four athletes.

The Eagles place two members on the team for the third time in the last six seasons as Nikki James and Carly Swisher were on the 2011 squads and Rachel Harper and Kristen Pickett placed in 2014.

Of the 2015 postseason all-league squads just three members of the eight-person first team return while 13 of the 16 second team and honorable mention players are back in the fold for their respective clubs.

"Preseason honors are earned the season before and that's how much confidence they have gained from other coaches," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "It's good for our younger kids to see so they have a couple experienced leaders that can help them."

2015 was the first season that Patton was given the reigns of the Carson-Newman attack and she produced one of the greatest seasons in program history. She finished the season with 1,430 assists, the third-most in program history in a single season and ranked 12th in Division II with 1,430 total assists.

Her 10.51 assists per set ranks fifth on the school's single year records and ranked 39th nationally. Patton became the third setter in school history to lead the South Atlantic Conference in assists per set joining Holly Barnham (1994) and Sherry Trimble (2002) and the third setter in school history to win SAC Specialist of the Week honors multiple times in a year joining Stephanie Cutter (2009) and Kristen Pickett (2014).

The Franklin, Tenn. native was a second-team All-SAC selection and a member of the Southeast Region All-Tournament Team in 2015. On the year, Patton racked up 16 double-doubles ranking second on the roster behind Molly Locke's 18. The junior was one of the best at the service line piling up 41 service aces to rank sixth in the league.

Two matches stick out from the 2015 season. The first was in the SAC Championships on Nov. 20 at Anderson (S.C.) when she set a career-high with 61 assists while also setting a personal best with four solo blocks, 5.5 total blocks and 12.5 points.

On Oct. 10 at Lander, Patton piled up 51 assists in a sweep marking the second-most assists in a three-set match in D2 on the year and being the first C-N player since Sherry Trimble in 2002 to have at least 50 assists in a three-set match.

"I would say there is not a lot of pressure just me going out and playing volleyball with our team," Patton said. "We have a lot of new players so I'm really excited about that. I'm just excited this year to play some volleyball with the newcomers."

Harris is the reigning SAC Freshman of the Year as she became the first Carson-Newman player to receive the honor since the award's inception in 1990.

The sophomore was one of three players on the roster to participate in all 137 sets played in 2015. She had 321 kills in her first season at Mossy Creek, the most kills in a single season by a freshman since 2003 when Melissa Miller piled up 367.

The native of the Tar Heel State piled up 10 kills in C-N's first game of 2015 against Quincy on Sept. 4 marking the first time since Aug. 29, 2001 that a true freshman had double-digit kills in a season opener when Jenna Rust had 12 against Union (Ky.).

The 2015 All-Freshman Team honoree 379 total points and 321 total kills on the year ranked 8th in the SAC while her 97 total blocks led the team and ranked fourth in the SAC.

"I'm really excited about this season," Harris said. "With a new coach and new players, I think it's going to be a great season. All of us are going to learn a lot about each other and grow as players and as individuals so I think it's going to be a great year. Having new talent come in and taking on other teams in our conference, it's almost like having a whole new team so it's going to be exciting."

The Eagles begin their 2016 season Friday morning at 9 a.m. against the reigning Division II National Champions, Wheeling Jesuit, is the first of four matches in Pensacola, Fla. as part of the Hampton Inn-Vitational hosted by West Florida.

1st Team

Anna Patton, Carson-Newman

Abby Saehler, Wingate

Brooke Redmond, Lenoir-Rhyne

Serena Jackson, Anderson

Rachel Garnett, Tusculum

Kiera Holland, Lincoln Memorial

Meredith Jones, Queens

Melissa Mazur, Tusculum

2nd Team

Natalie Harris, Carson-Newman

Marissa Mitter, Anderson