JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Megan Oldenburger and Marnie Streeter combined for 39 kills as each tallied a double-double for Carson-Newman in a come-from-behind five-set thriller at the Convocation Center Saturday evening to conclude play in the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Crossover.
"It was a big, big day in our season and culture-building process," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "We battled really good USC Aiken team this morning and followed it up in a war against Augusta. It was a huge growth moment for our young team in terms of selflessness, passion and execution. To be down 2-1 against Augusta and down in the fourth and show consistency, wow what a proud coaching staff!"
The Eagles won their first five-set outing of the season 25-23, 19-25, 22-25, 26-24 and 15-13 overcoming a 2-1 deficit.
It was a massive day statistically for the Eagles. Oldenburger pounded out a career-high 21 kills while establishing a new high with 19 digs. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native accounted for 99 attacks, the second-most in SAC history and 11th-highest in a five-set match in Division II history. The league record is 100 set by Brevard's Fatima Gharachorloo versus Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 27, 2015.
Streeter put the ball down 18 times while posting a career-high with 19 digs for her third double-double of the 2017 campaign.
Not to be outdone, Morgan Ballard (Weaverville, N.C.) notched 53 digs on the day, her second outing with at least 50 scoops in a match. The sophomore holds the top two marks in the country this season while holding three of the top four performances amongst liberos.
Madison Rademacher (Broomfield, Colo.) paved the way for the offense with a career-high 26 assists to go along with 11 digs for her first career double-double.
With 25 assists, Elena Vasquez notched a new single-game best while picking up eight digs.
For the first time in exactly 365 days an Eagle had five or blocks as Morgan Harlan (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) notched six total rejections with three solos to anchor the defensive effort at the net.
Carson-Newman (9-10) has won nine of the last 10 meetings against Augusta (11-10) and has lost just once to the Jaguars this millennium.
Streeter pounded out five kills in the opening stanza as each team hit over .200. C-N rattled off four straight points to open up a 9-5 lead marking its largest lead of the game. Augusta charged back into the set to pull within a point at 21-20, the first of three times that the Jags pulled within a point down the stretch. A ball handling miscue from Holland Martin sealed the win for the Eagles.
Despite making nine attack errors in the second stanza, C-N held a lead at 13-11 before Augusta ripped off the next five and eight of the next 10 to go ahead 19-15. Fittingly, a swinging mistake ended the frame as Augusta tied the match at one.
Neither team registered an attack clip higher than .100 in the third set as there were nine ties. Carson-Newman surged to a 6-2 advantage only to see Augusta rattled off four straight to tie the score. With the score even at 14, the Eagles won four in-a-row to take the lead. After an Oldenburger kill the lead was 20-17. The Jaguars had the response scoring the next five points. C-N tied the score at 22 before conceding the final three rallies capped by a miscue from Streeter to fall behind 2-1.
The fourth set was a seesaw battle with five ties and two lead changes. Augusta opened up a five-point lead at 15-10 and led 21-18 with a chance to close out the match. The Eagles fought back to tie the score at 23. After fending off a set point, the Jaguars succumbed to a pair of Streeter kills to send the match to a fifth set.
Franklin's group never trailed in the fifth set padding its lead as the frame progressed. C-N had match point at 14-11 only to see Augusta win two straight to force a timeout. An attack error by Rachel Hill put the contest on ice.
McKenzey Beck turned in one of the greatest performances against the Eagles of all-time finishing with 27 assists, 21 kills and 20 digs on top of three blocks.
Natalia Gouveia had 11 kills and 23 digs and Savannah Gonzales ripped 19 kills. Holland Martin led the back line with 44 digs.
On the day, the Eagles posted a .148 hitting clip with 132 digs, 12 blocks and five service aces while the Jaguars racked up a .177 margin with 131 scoops, 12 stuffs and five aces.
"The second half of conference play of conference play is up next and we have a ton of momentum from this weekend as we chase the conference tourney," Franklin iterated.
After playing its last six matches on the road, Carson-Newman returns to Holt Fieldhouse Friday evening to host Newberry at 7 p.m. for a SAC outing against the Wolves. The Eagle Sports Network will produce a video stream on cneagles.com/live with live stats available on cneagles.com/livestats.
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