GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman College Volleyball Team (14-7, 8-3 SAC) won a five-set thriller over Tusculum College (15-11, 6-6 SAC), 3-2 (25-15, 22-25, 23-25, 25-13, 16-14), Tuesday evening at Pioneer Arena in South Atlantic Conference play. With the victory, the Lady Eagles sweep the season series with the Pioneers.

C-N picked up the win in the first set as it dominated TC offensively. The Lady Eagles hit an impressive .406 (14-1-32) for the period compared to the Pioneers’ .079 (11-8-38) mark.

Tusculum answered in the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Both frames saw the Pioneers jump out to solid leads and hold on for the win.

With their backs against the wall, the Lady Eagles responded in the fourth stanza to tie the match at two sets apiece. Senior outside hitter Jessica Schachleiter (Cincinnati, Ohio) and junior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) combined for 10 kills as C-N cruised to the 25-13 win.

In the fifth and deciding set, Tusculum got out to a 6-3 lead forcing C-N to call a timeout. The Lady Eagles responded and scored four straight points to take a 7-6 lead behind Schachleiter’s serve. The two teams exchanged points until the match was tied at 12. Carson-Newman then scored two straight points to have match-point in hand, but Tusculum scored two straight points of their own to knot the deciding set at 14. The Lady Eagles went to the well one last time and took the final two points of the match to win, 16-14.

Mozgai and Schachleiter led the way offensively for the Lady Eagles with 16 and 14 kills, respectively as Schachleiter picked up 17 digs to complete her double-double on the night. Sophomore right side Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) added nine kills and a match-high five blocks as well for C-N while freshman libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) led the team with 21 digs.

Carson-Newman’s most outstanding effort came from senior setter Stephanie Cutter (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) as she posted 36 assists, 20 digs and nine kills, making her just one kill away from a virtually unheard-of triple-double.

Tusculum was led by Bailee Price (Fort Wayne, Ind.) with a match-high 19 kills, 10 digs and three service aces while Gina Coffaro (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded 14 digs and led all players with 27 digs.

Peyton Colclough (Manassas, Va.) dished out 46 assists and collected 11 digs for TC’s third double-double of the match. The Pioneers had six players register more than 10 digs on the night.

Carson-Newman will step out of SAC play to host the Carson-Newman Midseason “Dig For The Cure” Tournament this weekend at Holt Fieldhouse. Proceeds from the event will go to support breast cancer research through the Side-Out Foundation’s “Dig Pink” initiative.