Geurin moves up record books as Eagles pull off doubleheader sweep in Laurinburg

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Posted: Mar 04, 2022

LAURINBURG, N.C. - After suffering a pair of losses, Carson-Newman bounced back to win two straight in their doubleheader Friday morning.

The Eagles began the day by knocking off Stevenson 3-2 and then defeating St. Andrews 5-0.

"I'm proud of the way we've dealt with some adversity from things we couldn't control the last few days," says head beach volleyball coach Cat Lind. "We came out today a little slow and it wasn't our best showing. Although it wasn't the prettiest I am proud of our wins and I am confident we will come out tomorrow better prepared and ready to compete at a higher level and play our game."

Game One: CN 3, Stevenson 2

The Eagles rally to topple the Mustangs in a very close 3-2 match. Carson-Newman evens the series with Stevenson at 5-5.

Lindsey Geurin and Taylor Keeran took the first set of the day at the no. 5 position with a score of 21-12 over Stevenson's Kayla Vaeth and Hannah Naja. The Eagles barely escaped the second set with a score of 22-20. With the win, Geurin becomes the second Eagle in program history to notch 20 career wins.

Julia Wheeler and Morgan Siwiec led the Eagles to their second win of the day, defeating Ellie Cast and Makala Thompson. The sand Eagles won two nail-biting sets, 21-19 and 21-19.

Carson-Newman lost momentum as they fell to Stevenson's Olivia Simon and Abby Bruce. Jenny Ille and McKenna Hall were able to win their first set with a score of 21-18, but then lost two straight sets to fall victim to a Mustang comeback.

Taylor Jones and Piper Connors were able to carry the momentum into Stevenson's next match as they bested Piper Halcrow and Abby Hildenbrand in sets of 21-14 and 21-11.

Kenzie Palmer gets her first start at the no. one position as her and Sierra Still clinched the game in a two-set victory in sets of 21-19 and 21-17.

The win ends the Eagles' two match losing streak and is their second straight win over the Mustangs.

Game Two: Carson-Newman 5, St. Andrews 0

Carson-Newman advances to a 5-2 record on the young campaign as they swept St. Andrews in a 5-0 victory.

Geurin and Keeran began the game by competing in the closest set of the game with a score of 21-18. Samantha Byrd and Bailey Zivitski were unable to mount a comeback as they fell in the second set 21-11.

With her second win of the day, Geurin is now one win away from tying Abbey Struewing for the most wins in program history. The duo sit at 6-1 this season, the best record of any sand Eagle pair.

Alanis Mendez replaced Julia Wheeler in the no. four position as Mendez and Siwiec easily defeated Kyra McKinney and Sage Dunn in sets of 21-11 and 21-10. Mendez is now 4-1 in her appearances so far this season, however two of those matches were exhibition games.

Ille and Hall clinch the game clinch the game in the no. three position as they bested Cheyenne Bowman and Alexis Gordon in sets of 21-11 and 21-12.

Halcrow and Hildenbrand dominate their first set with a score of 21-7 but kept things interesting in their second set as the pair squeezed out a 21-16 win.

Still and Palmer rounded out the day with sets of 21-15 and 21-11 against St. Andrew's Lauren Gauna and Parker Venable.

The Eagles look to continue their winning ways tomorrow, Mar. 5, as they play a doubleheader against Catawba beginning at 10 A.M.