HICKORY, N.C. – Carson-Newman closed out one of its most successful months this decade with a 25-13, 25-23 and 25-18 sweep of Lenoir-Rhyne in South Atlantic Conference play Tuesday night at Shuford Gym. It was a month where the Eagles lost a total of nine sets.
With the victory, Carson-Newman (17-6, 11-5) notches its 10th victory of the month marking the first time since October 2015 that the Eagles rack up double-digit wins in a single month. C-N also wins a fifth straight win over Lenoir-Rhyne (14-10, 9-7), its first since winning six in a row in 2008-09.
The Eagles were highly efficient on the night committing a total of seven attack errors while hitting .297 piling up 37 kills, 44 digs, nine blocks and seven service aces.
Erin Edwards (Midlothian, Va.) paced the group with a .500 hitting clip and 10 kills. Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) also posted 10 smashes hitting .333 with seven digs, three blocks assists and two aces.
Taylor Rohr (Windsor, Colo.) posted 24 assists and five digs with Morgan Ballard (Weaverville, N.C.) led all players with 16 digs, the only player with double digits on the night.
�� kills from @Marnie_Streeter
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) October 30, 2019
1⃣6⃣ digs from @MorganFaith21
2⃣4⃣ assists from @trohr14
3⃣ blocks from @katieparnell27
Clean sweep for @CarsonNewmanVB on the road. pic.twitter.com/Y2lZ78J3wt
C-N broke a 7-6 first frame open with a 4-0 scoring run that set the stage for an easy set win. The Eagles scored 14 of the final 20 points taking the opening game on a service ace by Streeter.
Coach Ashley Tiernan's team pounded out 16 kills in the second stanza in a tight game. While Lenoir-Rhyne never led, the Bears were always within five points. That margin came at 21-16 but the Bears closed the gap to one thanks to a 4-0 sequence. Edwards ensured a set win on a kill.
The third set was close throughout with neither team winning more than two points in a row until ripped off four straight to open up a 23-16 margin. A kill from Kaina Roehrkasse (Fort Collins, Colo.) sealed the deal for the C-N victory.
Lenoir-Rhyne finished the night with a .113 hitting percentage notching 31 kills but 20 errors with 49 digs, four rejections and three aces.
Taylor Prall, the SAC's leader in kills, posted a total of four on the night making six errors on 21 swings. Hannah Houston was the team leader in the category with eight. Helen Hamilton registered 16 assists as no player had more than nine digs on the night.
The Eagles continue their short road swing with a journey to UVa-Wise Friday night at 7 p.m., a club that the unit swept on Sept. 13 before visiting Tusculum Saturday at 5 p.m. in Greeneville.
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