JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman sand volleyball program (0-6) travels to Charleston, S.C. to take park in the CofC Sand Classic this weekend beginning Friday at 5 p.m. against the College of Charleston (0-4). Play continues Saturday at 9:30 a.m. against No. 6 Stetson (11-1) and at 3:30 p.m. against No. 19 Jacksonville (3-8) before finishing up at 8 a.m. on Sunday against No. 20 Tulane.
After battling established Division I programs last week in Columbia, S.C., the Eagles got their first look at a sand volleyball competition taking on three top-10 teams.
"We were physically ready to go last week," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "I think mentally we were done. Having to stay so mentally into every point because you don't have a coach there to call timeout. You don't have someone there explaining what you are doing right and wrong every single point. They had to think a whole lot harder than they ever had to indoor. I think this weekend only having four matches and after going through a tough weekend mentally they'll be better."
Carson-Newman has made a couple adjustments to the teams in preparation for this weekend's tournament.
"Our first dual was kind of a shell-shock," Ahiers said. "I think the girls and the coaches really wanted to know what is this? We got better after that first dual. They started working harder together. They started trusting each other more. The communication got better. We mixed around a couple of the teams and our chemistry got better because of that."
Last weekend's effort at the University of South Carolina was a learning experience for both the team and the coaches as Ahiers believes the Eagles are well-equipped for this weekend's duals.
"We are going to be competitive," Ahiers said. "We got beat, but I think the girls really learned something. They have been working hard. They are a bunch of indoor girls that some of them only had about a week and a half of practice in before that tournament. I think they also learned that some of the things that we've been working on, some of the things I have said is kind of true. I also learned a whole lot. Our coaching staff learned a whole lot. The other coaches that were there and assistant coaches were great. We got to sit down with some of them and talk to them and learn some of the strategies that they did building up their program."
Follow @CNathletics and @CarsonNewmanVB on Twitter to stay current with the results during the day and visit cneagles.com following the final match of the to get a full rundown of the sand volleyball program's weekend of competition.
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