GREENWOOD, S.C. – With a .277 hitting percentage, Georgia College packed a punch in the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Crossover Friday afternoon at Horne Arena sweeping Carson-Newman 25-12, 27-25 and 25-12.
"It was an up and down day for our team today," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "I felt our selflessness, competitiveness and energy were awesome today. There are lots of positives to take from the day along with areas to improve. I'm proud of this team and looking forward to getting better tomorrow."
It marked just the second overall meeting between the two schools as Carson-Newman (8-9) has won just one set against Georgia College (10-4).
Overall in the match, the Eagles were limited to a .029 hitting percentage notching four blocks, four service aces and 36 digs. The Bobcats countered with a .277 attack clip, seven blocks, six aces and 51 scoops.
Franklin's group was led by Megan Oldenburger (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) with eight kills and five digs. Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) was the only other player on the Eagles group with more than three kills tallying seven on the day.
Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) handed out 14 assists and notched eight digs while Morgan Ballard (Weaverville, N.C.) tallied 14 digs to lead the team.
The Bobcats came out the gates rolling winning seven of the first nine points of the match to seize control of the opening set. The closest the Eagles could get the rest of the way was four points finished on a 7-2 sequence capped by a kill from Taylor Svehla. The Bobcats committed just one attack error with 15 kills on a .414 attack clip.
Despite the second stanza being a tight affair there was just three ties. The deficit for C-N was six points at 23-17 when the offense started clicking. Kills from Oldenburger and Streeter pair with attack miscues from GC saw the Eagles tie the score at 23, 24 and 25. Emma Boughner provided a kill and a hitting mistake from Alex Biro (Ootlewah, Tenn.) sealed the set.
Once again the third set, the Bobcats charged out of the gates winning seven of the first 10 points. The Eagles pulled within three and were down 16-12 only to see Georgia College rattle off the final nine points of the match.
Svehla paced the Bobcats with a match-high 14 kills posting a .478 hitting percentage to go on top of three blocks. Kayla Brockway dished out 33 assists while picking up seven kills, five digs and 1.5 blocks.
C-N will make the 70-minute bus ride southeast to Aiken, S.C. to wrap up play against the Peach Belt with a noon outing against USC Aiken and a 4 p.m. contest versus Augusta. Follow @CNathletics on Twitter for all of the latest news and notes.
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