VIDEO: Dave Franklin Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to avoid its first losing streak of the year, Carson-Newman continues its homestand with home matches against Lenoir-Rhyne Friday night at 7 p.m. and Catawba Saturday at 5 p.m. in South Atlantic Conference action.
"We are just a team now," Carson-Newman volleyball coach Dave Franklin said. "It's no longer you are a freshman or sophomore. There are still new experiences and matches but it's a hope that we are just now ready to roll. Whatever is happening we have a solution to that problem. I think there is a lot of growing up that's happened in our gym and we will continue to do so."
After its first two losses in 2017, Carson-Newman (5-3, 3-2) has responded with sweeps in the next match. The Eagles are looking to snap a nine-game skid inside of the friendly confines dating back to a five-set conquest of Augusta on Oct. 14, 2016.
Friday night marks the 60th all-time meeting between Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne (5-2, 2-0) as the Eagles hold a 33-26 advantage that includes a 15-12 mark at home. The Bears have won eight of the last 12 matchups since the start of the 2012 campaign.
The most recent meeting came in the 2017 season finale for the Eagles as the Bears earned a five-set triumph. Taylor Lowe finished the match with a career-high 46 digs, the fourth-most in a Division II match a year ago. Brooke Redmond led Lenoir-Rhyne with 19 kills and 27 digs.
33 total rejections were tallied between the two teams as L-R tallied 18. It was the most by a C-N opponent since Tusculum picked up 19.5 on Sept. 18, 2007.
Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry were separated by four points for fifth and sixth respectively in the preseason coaches' poll. The Bears welcome back middle blocker Emily Steele and outside hitter Brooke Redmond to the fold, a pair of second-team All-SAC selections in 2016.
"For the most part in our gym we are just trying to pay attention to ourselves," Franklin expressed. "We have watched Lenoir-Rhyne and they are very efficient. You just look at their statistics and it tells you that. They have some kids and have some experienced kids. They aren't going to beat themselves."
The group is riding a four-match winning streak since losing in straight sets at Nova Southeastern on Sept. 2, its lone true road match of 2017. The Bears have won eight consecutive stanzas losing the second set to Lees-McRae on Sept. 9 in what has been an otherwise flawless stretch.
L-R's block is ranked 17th in the nation behind Lincoln Memorial in the conference with 2.43 per set. Jaclyn Denny is the conference's leader in rejections per set at 1.25 including a six-block effort against American International in her first game of the year on Sept. 1. Despite the block tally, opponents are hitting .161, the third-highest clip in the SAC.
There is no team that the Eagles have faced off against more than Catawba (3-4, 1-2) as Saturday is the 64th battle between the two programs. The Indians hold the lead at 37-26 but are 10-10 at Mossy Creek. After C-N had won six straight meetings, Catawba won both affairs in 2016.
The Indians swept the last contest on Nov. 5, 2016 as Marnie Streeter recorded her first career double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs. McKenzie Garrison recorded 10 kills and 10 digs and Audrey Hoffman add 10 smashes. Rachel Stanford handed out 35 assists.
The Catawba Indians from Catawba College finished sixth in the conference a season ago and needs to replace first-team all-league honoree Bri Howard who was seventh in the conference with 0.91 blocks per set.
Entering weekend play, the Indians have lost back-to-back matches falling in five sets to Tusculum while losing at Lenoir-Rhyne Tuesday evening.
Offensively the team has the second-lowest attack percentage in the league this year at .129 as the defense picks up 19.63 digs per set. Allison Benton is third in the league in digs per frame at 6.04.
The Eagle Sports Network will be set up and ready to roll for high-definition video streams on Friday and Saturday afternoon. Coverage starts 15 minutes before first serve and can be found on cneagles.com/live.
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