VIDEO: Dave Franklin Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Trailing by as many as nine points in the third set, Newberry used an 11-3 run to overcome a Carson-Newman lead and top the Eagles in straight sets 25-20, 25-21 and 27-25 Saturday evening in South Atlantic Conference competition at Holt Fieldhouse.
"We have an Achilles heel like all teams," Carson-Newman volleyball coach Dave Franklin said. "Right now our Achilles heel is the ability to side out consistently. If you go back, even in the first or second set, you're going to find a four-point run and we will lose by four or two. When you get up on a team, siding out is the key. If you are just able to side out every couple points, you're going to get to 25 before them. I think the focus is there. I think the energy is there."
Newberry (14-10, 11-5) sweeps Carson-Newman (3-19, 2-12) in the regular season series for just the second time in the matchup doing so during the 2013 campaign as well.
The first frame saw nine ties and three lead changes but Newberry outhit Carson-Newman .286 to .233. The score was tied at nine when the Wolves reeled off five on the next seven rallies. The Eagles came back to tie the score at 17 only to see the visitors win five of the next six to pull away and take a 1-0 match lead.
In the second stanza, the score was deadlocked at 10 when the Wolves reeled off six straight to go ahead 16-10. A 6-2 sequence for the Eagles closed the gap to two points at 20-18. Newberry won three of the next four and took a 2-0 match lead on a kill from Alexis Bryant. It was a frame where there were 1 ties and seven lead changes, all of which happened in the first 20 rallies.
Carson-Newman started the third set with a 6-0 lead forcing a Newberry timeout and an overall beginning of 11-2. The Wolves won five of seven to pull within six at 13-7 before the Eagles stretched the lead back to nine at 16-7 prompting another stoppage from the visiting coach Todd Hay. C-N went ahead 20-13 when the Wolves used an 11-3 to get a match point at 24-23. Newberry needed three match points before a kill from Madison Darby-McClure capped the comeback and the match.
The Eagles ended with a .153 hitting percentage, 62 digs, nine blocks and seven service aces while the Wolves racked up a .211 attack clip, 65 scoops, nine rejections and a trio of service aces.
Freshman outside hitter Abbie McFarlane (McKinney, Texas) led the offense for C-N with 13 kills and fellow rookie Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) added 11 smashes.
A trio of players finished in double figures in digs as senior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) led all players with 20, sophomore Ally King (Cincinnati, Ohio) had and sophomore Hannah Robertson (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) had 12.
Junior setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) finished with 35 assists, eight digs and three rejections.
Logan Hayward led all athletes with 16 kills and 11 digs while Madison Darby-McClure notched 10 smashes on a .429 attack percentage and 2.5 blocks.
Maggie Marsh tallied 35 assists and 15 digs as one of four Wolves with double-digit digs.
Carson-Newman takes to the road Tuesday evening make the short journey to Tusculum for a 7 p.m. first serve.
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