MARS HILL, N.C. – Carson-Newman hit a season-low .027 as a group in a straight set loss to Mars Hill 15-25, 13-25 and 19-25 in South Atlantic Conference action Tuesday night at Stanford Arena.
"While obviously we did not perform to our standards, we must give credit to Mars Hill," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "I thought they controlled their side of the net really well tonight and put relentless pressure on us.
"There are four matches to go. I refuse, our players refuse to let tonight define us and we will continue to show up each day in practice with a focused effort to simply get better."
The Eagles (3-23, 2-16) recorded 24 kills and 21 attack errors on the night compiling a hitting percentage below .100 for the sixth time in 2016. Mars Hill (7-18, 6-12) entered play ranking 193rd in the country in opponents hitting percentage at .192.
The score was tied at four only to see Mars Hill win eight of the next 10 points to go ahead 12-6. After C-N won the next three points, the Lions won six of the next eight to go on top 18-11 and won the final four points of the opening frame to go ahead 1-0.
The Eagles were limited to a -.056 hitting percentage while the Lions tallied a .314 attack clip in the second stanza. Mars Hill was clinging to a 7-6 advantage before winning 18 of the final 24 rallies of the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set saw five ties and one lead change as the tightest game of the match. With the score all square at 10, Mars Hill won six of the next seven to put C-N in a hole that it never could climb out of. Five points was the closest the margin would get as Rebecca Butler ended the match with a kill.
Carson-Newman had 52 digs, four blocks and three service aces while Mars Hill hit .234 as a team with 58 digs, seven aces and four rejections.
Freshman outside hitter Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) was the lone play to pile up double-digit kills with 11 on the night.
Junior setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) piled up a double-double for the third straight night with 21 assists and 10 digs.
Senior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) notched a 20-dig match for the sixth consecutive night going for a match-high 20 scoops.
Lauren Hochstettler led the Lions attack with nine kills and nine digs. Andie Russell and Sara Fahrenbrook each had 14 assists. Russell added seven digs and three aces to her night.
The Eagles wrap up the regular season road slate with a visit to Queens (N.C.) Friday at 7 p.m. and a trek to Catawba on Saturday for a 5 p.m. first serve.
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