JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Anderson extended the nation's fifth-longest conference regular-season winning streak withstanding a late flurry from Carson-Newman in a four-frame win 25-18, 25-9, 28-30 and 25-23 on Tuesday night in a South Atlantic Conference affair at the Abney Athletic Center.
"It's a tough road loss for the Eagles today," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "Unfortunately I failed to have our players prepared to start the match and it cost us. Amazing persistence and courage by our girls to come back fighting after the second set and make this a great match. We have learned some adjustments we must make in the way we play can help us going forward. Lots of volleyball left to play and we look forward to continually improving."
Taking its 26th straight SAC regular-season effort, Anderson (16-1, 7-0) also wins on its home floor for the 21st straight try, a mark that is seventh in Division II, and wins a 12th consecutive game in 2018.
Carson-Newman (6-5, 2-2) has lost three in-a-row when being the visiting team in the series and now stands at 4-7 all-time when playing Anderson outside of Jefferson City.
After winning four of the first five rallies of the night, the Eagles watched as their opponent went on a 10-3 surge to take an 11-7 lead. C-N responded by winning six straight to go back on top 13-11 and force a timeout from Todd Hay. The two sides flipped 3-0 spurts and with the Eagles on top 16-14, the Trojans mounted their charge. Franklin's group could only muster two more points as the home side won 11 of the final 13 go on top 1-0.
The two clubs traded the first two points of the second set before Anderson erupted winning 12 of the next 15 to go ahead 13-4. The Eagles won consecutive points on one occasion the rest of the way as Anderson cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match. It marked the first time that C-N was limited to single digits in a set requiring 25 points since Sept. 6, 2014 when Humboldt State won 25-8 in the third set of a five-set Eagle win.
It was another crazy set for the Eagles as the third featured eight ties and three lead changes. Anderson led 12-8 when an 11-4 sequence by C-N gave the visitors a 19-16 edge. It maintained as C-N had a 24-22 lead only to watch the Trojans evade three set points to get a match point at 26-25. Franklin's flock won two straight and needed three more tries before Kendall Cooley (Castle Rock, Colo.) delivered her first-career ace to keep the Eagles alive.
The momentum carried over momentarily into the fourth frame as the Eagles won the first two only to see Anderson win the next six to take control. Chipping away, C-N came back to tie the score at 12 equalizing four more times the rest of the way but never being able to get over the hump. A kill from the middle back spot from Jalyn Knight split a pair of Eagles to lock up the contest.
1⃣1⃣ Kills from @Rhodesjoy_
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) September 26, 2018
✅ Double-double for @trohr14 @CarsonNewmanVB put together a late charge but it was not enough to halt Anderson's winning streak. pic.twitter.com/VuJMuNqNrV
In the four set tussle, Carson-Newman produced 94 digs, seven blocks and five aces while hitting .126 on 41 kills. Anderson countered with 108 scoops, eight aces and four rejections with a .228 attack percentage on 64 kills.
Joy Rhodes (Youngsville, N.C.) registered her third double-digit kill effort of the season with 11 while producing her first career double-double with 15 digs.
Taylor Rohr (Windsor, Colo.) added her third double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs. Morgan Ballard (Weaverville, N.C.) had 35 digs and Elena Vasquez tallied 17 helpers and eight digs.
Four Anderson players finished in double figures in kills led by 17 on a .385 hitting clip from Hailee Wilhelm. Knight had a double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs. Regan Duty and Liliana Kinder had 14 and 12 apiece.
Emily Conlin put together an eye-popping night with 53 assists, 29 digs and four aces. Five Trojans accumulated double-digit digs with Meghan DeVaux finishing behind Conlin with 24.
Continuing their road swing, the Eagles get two days away from competition before journeying to Catawba on Friday night for a 7 p.m. first serve. Video and stats are provided with terrific tweets available for visual consumption by following @CNathletics.
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