AIKEN, S.C. - Two matches, six sets. That's all Carson-Newman needed on day one of the Pacer Invitational to clobber Auburn-Montgomery, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-23, before smashing USC Aiken, 25-22, 25-17 and 25-20, on Friday at the Convocation Center.
The Eagles have rattled off four sweeps in the last five matches while extending the winning streak to five in a row, their longest string since winning seven straight at the end of the 2019 campaign when Carson-Newman (6-1) won both ther South Atlantic Conference Tournament title and the NCAA Southeast Regional crown.
"The day started a little rocky during our match against AUM but finding a way to win even through that adversity set the tone for the rest of the day," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We found moments of high discipline during our Aiken match that set us apart early each set."
Match One: CARSON-NEWMAN 3, Auburn-Montgomery 0
Two clubs that have never met before saw Tiernan's troops walk away with a sweep for the third time in the last four matches.
Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) continued her blazing start to the year with a match-high 14 kills throwing in a dozen digs for her fourth double-double of the year. Taylor Adams (Covington, Ga.) tallied a career-high seven smashes on 15 swings.
Once again the dynamic setting duo of Carlee Allbaugh (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) each notched a double-double with Allbaugh picking up 13 assists and a team-high 13 digs while Hildenbrand finished with 13 and 12 respectively.
Carson-Newman opened the match with a wire-to-wire first set victory blazing out of the gates by winning 10 of the first 11 points. Despite a late surge from the Warhawks, a seventh attack error by the club allowed the Eagles to take an early edge.
Over the next two sets there would be 17 ties and five lead changes starting in the second when C-N broke up a 5-5 tie by winning five of six points. AUM countered with six straight and held an advantage as late as 17-16 only to see the Eagles win seven unanswered to gain the lead they needed before Adams clobbered a ball to the surface to make it a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, the Orange and Blue broke open the set with a 9-4 stretch to go ahead 16-11. However Auburn-Montgomery battled back to take leads at 22-21 and 23-22 but C-N won the final three points of the day with Emmagrace Cobb (Greensboro, N.C.) putting the punctuation mark on the day with a kill.
Kendall McCain andn Alessia Cappai each racked up 11 kills for the Warhawks but the rest of the roster tallied 14 kills and 14 attack errors. McCain added 14 digs to pace the club while Amber Bretwisch dished out 16 assists.
�� @CarsonNewmanVB starting the weekend with a sweep
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 2, 2022
1️⃣4️⃣ @juliawheerr kills
1️⃣3️⃣ @AllbaughCarlee digs
1️⃣3️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
2️⃣.5️⃣ @skylorweaver_ blocks pic.twitter.com/NnT2uhFXx0
1️⃣4️⃣ @juliawheerr kills
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 3, 2022
1️⃣6️⃣ @hbarton12 digs
1️⃣8️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
3️⃣ @skylorweaver_ blocks
2️⃣ straight wins at USC Aiken for @CarsonNewmanVB pic.twitter.com/gevfQOQE8Q
Match Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 3, USC Aiken 0
Carson-Newman had never won at USC Aiken (5-1) until winning in five sets last season collecting its second in a row on the road. Three of the team's seven all-time wins over the Pacers have come in straight sets including in two of the last four meetings overall.
Wheeler paced all players on the floor with 14 more kills chipping in 10 digs for her second double-double of the day. Cobb and Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) both added seven smashes.
Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) led the back line with a season-high 16 digs. Hildenbrand and Allbaugh posted 18 and 15 assists respectively.
Carson-Newman's block was a big key on the evening racking up a season-high 12 rejections led by 3.5 from Cobb and three apiece from Keeran and Skylor Weaver (Katy, Texas).
Once again the Eagles came out of the gates clicking winning the first three points and nine of the first 11. Aiken chiseled into the margin and eventually took a two-point lead and held a 22-21 edge only to see the Eagles rattle off the final four points capped by a blast from Keeran to go ahead 1-0.
The teams traded the first dozen rallies of the second stanza before C-N won six straight to grab ahold of the set. USC Aiken never could put a big dent in the deficit with C-N coasting to victory thanks to a block by Cobb and Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.).
In the third, the Eagles fell behind 8-7 before winning five of the next seven to take a lead they would never give up as Hildenbrand dumped a ball to the ground to seal the match.
Abbey Schad recorded a dozen kills and hit .417 but the rest of the roster combined to post 22 smashes and 25 attack errors. Four players had double-digit digs led by 19 from Kari Mercer. Caroline Foster and Mallory Barash each had 15 assists.
Carson-Newman closes out the Pacer Invitational on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. against Francis Marion with a 3 p.m. contest against North Greenville closing out the weekend.
- CN -
