VIDEO: Ashley Tiernan Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – One of the top teams in the South Atlantic Conference, Anderson, and one of the cellar dwellers, Newberry, are slated to visit Carson-Newman for homecoming this weekend. The match against the Trojans starts at 7 p.m. Friday night with the weekend concluding at noon on Saturday.
Carson-Newman (15-5, 9-4) has won eight straight matches dropping a total of three sets in that span for the 11th-longest winning streak in the country. Two victories this weekend would produce the first double-digit winning streak by the program since it reeled off 13 straight to start the 2007 season.
"It's been the energy and the different style of play," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We are running a few more options offensively than we ran in the past. They have really rallied together and taken ownership of it. It's been a lot of fun to be a part of."
Since starting the year 2-2, Anderson (16-3, 12-2) has won 14 of the last 15 affairs but only four of those outings have been sweeps. Over the last three seasons, the team is 72-14 overall losing a total of six conference matches, all of which have coming in road outings.
Friday night is the 27th meeting with the Trojans with C-N trailing 14-12 but looking for a third straight win at Holt Fieldhouse after sweeping the Trojans last year. Anderson has won six of the last seven regular-season meetings including a five-set decision on Sept. 20.
A 7-0 sequence proved to be the difference in the fifth for the home team spoiling a night where Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) and Erin Edwards (Midlothian, Va.) each produced 16 kills. C-N produced a higher hitting margin of .149 to .139.
Coach Todd Hay's crew ranks sixth in the country with 2.26 service aces per set placing six players in the league's top 19 in the category. The team also excels offensively with 13.15 kills per set and a .215 hitting percentage, both ranking second in the league.
"They run a very fast offense and most teams in our conference don't," Tiernan said. "In practice it's not something that you are used to. It's something that we are going to continue to play our game and do everything that we can on Friday and hopefully come away with a win."
Emily Conlin continues to be one of the best setters in the country ranking 16th nationally with 11.01 assists per set. The All-American has 11 double-doubles this season and 11 outings with at least 40 assists.
Newberry (4-15, 2-12) is one of 39 teams in the nation to be winless in road matches this year while sporting a 15-match road losing streak that is the 17th-longest in Division II. The last time the team won away from home since sweeping Coker on Sept. 28, 2018 at Coker, a sweep. Over the last three seasons, the Wolves are 5-26 in true road matches.
The Wolves have lost seven straight matches, the second-longest stretch in the league having not produced a victory since Oct. 4 against UVa-Wise.
The Eagles play the team from the Palmetto State for the 48th all-time meeting holding a commanding 36-10 overall record and a 16-5 mark inside of the friendly confines. C-N has won five straight and looking for its first five-match winning streak in the series since a six-game stretch from 2008-11.
Carson-Newman's offense hit .402 in a sweep of the Wolves in the first meeting this year, its highest efficiency mark since tallying a .412 clip against Converse on Sept. 10, 2014, a span of 163 matches and 1,838 days. Joy Rhodes (Youngsville, N.C.) led the way with a career-high 18 kills hitting .455 for the match adding nine digs and three aces.
As a team, the Wolves have the second-lowest blocks per set figure in the league with 1.43 per game and the fourth-lowest kills per set number at 10.94. Zoe Dinkins is the only individual that ranks in the top 10 in the SAC in any category placing ninth in attack percentage with .253.
Both contests this weekend will air on cneagles.com/live courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network for wall-to-wall coverage. Live stats will be available on cneagles.com/livestats.
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