VIDEO: Dave Franklin Interview

Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman continues South Atlantic Conference action with a road trip to face Brevard Friday evening at 7 p.m. and Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday evening at 6 p.m.

"We are building and building and finding little ways to get better," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "I like where our serving is. I like where our defense is. It could be a little better but we are working hard on that as well. Our offense is what has been holding us back and we are starting to see that progress like we did with the serving. We know we are on the right track."

Carson-Newman (1-12, 1-8) has lost eight consecutive matches, tied for the second-longest in the program's history. In 1996 and 1999, the Eagles suffered losing streaks of nine straight contests for the longest such string in C-N history.

The Eagles have never lost to Brevard (3-12, 3-6) winning all 19 matches that the two programs have played in the all-time series. 11 of the 19 matches have been a three-set sweep for the C-N.

A season ago, the Eagles swept both meetings against the Tornados hitting .264 and .298. The contest on Brevard's campus saw a trio of C-N players tally double-figure kill evenings led by 16 from Sara Fairley. Fatima Gharachorloo paced the Tornados with 10 kills and 11 digs.

Brevard is looking to get back to winning as it enters the weekend riding a six-match losing streak with its last victory coming on Sept. 17, a five-set win at Mars Hill.

Defensively, the Tornados rank last in the conference in blocks per set (1.17), digs per frame (14.50) and second from the bottom in opponent hitting percentage (.216).

Honorable Mention All-SAC pick from 2015, Aleksandra Vrvilo is second in the league in total digs (294) and places fourth in digs per set with a 5.07 clip.

In a rematch of the 2015 Southeast Region Championship match, the Eagles take on Lenoir-Rhyne (5-11, 3-6) for the 52nd time while holding a distinct 32-19 advantage.

The two sides played four times in 2015 with C-N sweeping the regular season contests and L-R sweeping the SAC Championships matchup. The Eagles won in four sets in Aiken, S.C. to capture the program's first-ever region title. Carson-Newman set a program record for digs in a match tallying 138 on the night which is just outside of the top-10 in league history.

Libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) reset her career-high with 39 digs. Setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.), named to the all-region tournament team, handed out 47 assists while compiling 11 digs.

Lenoir-Rhyne snapped a four-match losing skid with a four-set victory at home over Tusculum Tuesday evening.

The Bears are one of the top blocking teams in the nation ranking sixth in total blocks with 144 while standing in 12th in rejections per set at 2.40. Three players rank in the top-10 in the league as Jaclyn Denny averages 1.02 blocks per set and Emily Steele checks in with a 0.98 mark.

Conversely, L-R has had trouble terminating the ball as evident by a .142 attack percentage to rank 10th in the SAC.

First-team All-SAC pick from 2015 Brooke Redmond continues to lead the charge averaging 3.53 kills per set, third in the SAC, but has been set up the second-most in the league with 10.71 attacks per set.

Brevard will host live stats for Friday evenings contest while Lenoir-Rhyne will produce a video stream to go along with the live stats. All of the latest news regarding Carson-Newman Volleyball can be found on Twitter by using @CNathletics and @CarsonNewmanVB.

- CN -