WINGATE, N.C. – Coming off of its third South Atlantic Conference Tournament title, Carson-Newman begins its quest for its second region title in five years Thursday at noon from Cuddy Arena against familiar foe Anderson in the Division II Women's Volleyball Championships.
"Our game plan has been to look at film to see what went wrong [in the first two meetings]," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We have a good game plan and I think we are 100 percent ready for it. Our offense needs to move the ball around and make sure we are creating shots like we have been doing the past couple weeks. We have to make sure we are getting our middles involved and our serve receive is on point the way that we need them to. We take the points when we can get them."
Carson-Newman (25-7) is in the NCAA Playoffs for the eighth time in school history and the fifth time this decade. The No. 3 seed is the second-highest seed for the Eagles behind earning a No. 2 slot in 2008. This season is the first venture to the postseason since 2017 when the team dropped a five-set opening round effort to second-seeded Wingate.
In four of the last five journeys to the NCAA Playoffs, C-N has won at least one match including a region title in 2015. That season, the Eagles defeated Armstrong State, Erskine and Lenoir-Rhyne en route to the National Quarterfinals.
Carson-Newman is playing in a regional at Wingate for the fifth time in program history doing so in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014. The Eagles have been the regional semifinals in each of the last three journeys.
With a match versus Anderson (22-7), the Eagles and the Trojans square off for the 28th time with C-N trailing 15-12. Three of those contests have come in the postseason, all in the SAC Tournament and each one requiring five frames. The lone neutral site affair in the history of the series came in the semifinals in 2014 in Hickory with Anderson taking home a victory.
Moments like no other for @CarsonNewmanVB.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) November 24, 2019
Relive the final point and the celebration after. #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/jryGyFsjcI
The Eagles have won the last two postseason tilts, the 2015 opening round and the 2017 semifinal. The Trojans have seven of the last nine in the series including a pair of five-set wins this season. C-N has defeated every team in the league at least once this year with the exception of Todd Hay's crew.
The Orange and Blue have produced more kills than its opponent 26 times going 0-5 when its foe has more including both matches to the Trojans. The Eagles have racked up 29 blocks but lost the fifth set each time 15-10.
After starting the season 18-3, Anderson produced a 4-4 record in November being swept twice after losing in straight sets once in the first 21 matches. Hay has led his team to the tournament for the third straight season where the unit has won the first round match in each of the last two years.
SAC Player of the Year Emily Conlin leads the Trojan ranking in the top 10 among active Division II players in aces, first with 188, assists, fourth with 4,990, and assists per set, eighth with 10.99. The setter produced matches with 49 assists and 20 digs and 45 and 29 against the Eagles this season. She is one of five All-SAC members with Hailee Wilhelm landing on the second team and three honorable mention picks.
Anderson is one of the elite serving programs in the country ranking 11th in the nation with 2.08 aces per set on the year with four players ranking in the top 13 in league in the category.
While not a strong blocking team with 1.79 rejections per set, seventh in the SAC, the team ranks third in the league in hitting efficiency with a .201 clip and 12.70 kills per game.
Thursday's match and all of the contests from the Southeast Region will air on the ESPN app on your favorite streaming device. To stay tuned with the latest news follow @CNathletics on Twitter and on Instagram.
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