HARROGATE, Tenn. – For the first time since 2014 Carson-Newman is 2-0 to begin a season as the Eagles swept King (Tenn.) 25-14, 30-28 and 25-22 to conclude day one of the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas Crossover Friday afternoon at Mary Mars Gym.
"It was a good day for the Eagles," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "I saw lots of things we have worked on in preseason show up today. As is with the first weekend you find out your weaknesses in the game environment. We were able to allow the depth of this team to play today and continue that development. It was a great team effort today and we look forward to coming back tomorrow and showing what we learned today."
Friday's match marked the first time that Carson-Newman (2-0) swept King (3-2) since the 2007 season, a span of nine matches. Seven of the program's 15 wins over the Tornado have come via a sweep.
Nearly a half hour after sealing its first win of the season, the offense continued its hot play pounding out a .310 hitting clip in the opening set. A three-point quickly ballooned to eight at 14-6 thanks to a 6-1 spurt capped by a service ace from Megan Oldenburger (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). The Eagles closed out the set on a 4-0 sequence to seize the opening game 25-14.
King surged out of the gates in the second stanza seizing a 9-3 early edge. It was a six-point differential at 12-6 when the Eagles rattled off seven of eight to tie the score at 13. It was one of 10 ties in the game. Down by one, Franklin's flock scored three points to get to set point at 24-22. Julie Ward and Georgia Davis provided kills to extend the set. King would get its lone set point at 27-26 but Lindsay De Vore notched a kill to deadlock the score. On its sixth try, Carson-Newman was the beneficiary of a Tristyn Lozano attack mistake to go on top 2-0 in the match.
In the third frame, the Tornado had control at the outset and pushed the margin to four at 13-9. Carson-Newman flipped the switch and won 12 of the next 13 to take a touchdown lead at 21-14. After King won five straight to pull within a pair, the Eagles kept their margin winning on an attack error by Rebekah Hill.
Erin Edwards (Midlothian, Va.) cranked out 10 kills on a .389 hitting clip while Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) provided 10 of her own with seven scoops.
Taylor Rohr (Windsor, Colo.) dished out 19 assists and had seven digs while Hannah Robertson (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) notched her 18th career double-digit dig effort with a team-high 11.
King played the same seven players for the duration of the match as Julie Ward led all players with 16 kills combined with 18 digs. Abby Anderson had 35 assists and eight digs while Sydney Pigage chipped in 18 digs.
As a unit, C-N pounded out 37 kills on a .216 hitting clip with 59 digs and three service aces while King had 42 kills but made 27 mistakes for a .109 attack percentage with 67 digs and three aces.
The Eagles wrap up the weekend with a 2 p.m. first serve against Emmanuel in the SAC/CC Crossover from Mary Mars Gym. Live stats are available here with updates on Twitter by following @CNathletics.
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