JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – To put a bow on the abbreviated spring schedule, Carson-Newman plays its final two home matches of the regular season when Newberry comes to town Friday night at 7 p.m. and Anderson visits Holt Fieldhouse Saturday at 3 p.m.
Friday is the 48th meeting between Carson-Newman (5-2, 5-2) and Newberry (4-3, 4-3) with the former holding an all-time lead of 37-10 including a 17-5 mark in Jefferson City, The Eagles have reeled off wins in five straight matches since the Wolves won a five-set contest on their home floor on Sept. 15, 2017.
In two meetings in 2019, the Orange and Blue won six of the seven sets that included a first outing where the team racked up 18 service aces, the most since Aug. 29, 2007 when it had 21. Over the last three meetings, the Wolves have allowed 41 aces by the Eagles.
Carson-Newman's attack was on fire posting a hitting percentage of at least .200 in each of the seven sets pounding out a .402 clip at Eleazer Arena for the match. Four different players produced a match of double-digit blasts.
Newberry has had an interesting season being the only team to take a set off of league-leading Wingate when it won in four frames over the Bulldogs on March 6. It also has a pair of five-set losses to two-win clubs, Coker and Limestone. The Wolves have dropped two of three but are coming off of a sweep of Mars Hill last Friday.
Aces have played a key role as the club touts four players in the top 20 in the league in the category while the team is 29th in the country averaging 1.96 per set. They have produced a pair of matches in double figures with Avery Webb ranking second in the SAC with 0.57 including four matches with at least three.
Natasha Bannister is one of the top offensive options in the league for a team that ranks fifth with a .184 hitting margin. Bannister is fifth in the league with 3.50 kills per set racking up four matches this year with at least 16.
Anderson (5-2, 5-2) and the Eagles have met on the volleyball court 28 times with the Trojans holding a 15-13 edge. They swept the regular-season meetings before being swept out of the 2019 NCAA Women's Volleyball Southeast Regional at Wingate.
After dropping both meetings prior to the tournament in five frames, C-N saw six different players post at least five kills and the rotation stuffed the stat sheet to secure the program's third-ever NCAA Tournament sweep. Marnie Streeter led the way with 10 kills and 10 digs with Morgan Ballard chipping in 26 scoops.
Coach Todd Hay's team dropped a five-set match to Newberry and were swept by Wingate in the first two matches of the year but have since rattled off five straight wins including five-set triumphs over Queens and Lenoir-Rhyne last week.
Winners of both of their road matches, the Trojans are second in the league in kills per set (13.07) and hitting percentage (.220). There have been five outings with at least a .200 margin with a season-low .118 being an outlier. They have registered 50-plus smashes in six of seven.
Four athletes are posting at least two kills per set with freshman Tabitha Wheeler leading the way at 3.17. She has double-digit blasts in six of her seven outings with a season-high 24 in the opener. Maya Learmonth is the reigning SAC Player of the Week as she has at least a dozen kills in her last four hitting .311 during that period.
Both matches will feature a video broadcast on cneagles.com/live as the Eagle Sports Network provides the sights and sounds from the friendly confines.
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