WINGATE, N.C. - Carson-Newman College won a suspenseful fifth set to take a 3-2 (11-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 19-17) victory over Catawba College in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional volleyball tournament Friday night. The win was the first in NCAA postseason play in Carson-Newman history.

C-N improves to 23-9 overall. The Lady Eagles will face the Bulldogs of Wingate Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Catawba concludes the 2009 campaign with a 17-12 record.

Carson-Newman senior outside hitter Jessica Schachleiter (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 19 kills and 17 digs. Junior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) posted 14 kills, while senior middle blocker Jessica Brady (Fruitland Park, Fla.) collected 12 kills of her own.

Lady Eagle senior setter Stephanie Cutter (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) picked up a double-double with 31 assists and 25 digs. Junior setter Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) had 21 assists, while freshman libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) collected 23 digs.

Catawba freshman setter Jordan Raye (Boonville, N.C.) had a triple-double with 48 assists, 19 digs and 10 kills. Freshman outside hitter Kaitlyn Whitmer (Ferrum, Va.) topped the offensive charts with a match-high 22 kills. Whitmer added 21 digs. Catawba sophomore outside hitter Shay Meeks (Kings Mountain, N.C.) contributed 16 kills.

Indian senior libero Mai Zoua Lo (Hickory, N.C.) collected a match-high 35 digs. Zoua Lo and senior middle blocker Jasmine Chunn (East Bend, N.C.) played their last match for head coach Ginger Hamric Friday night. Chunn had eight kills.

The fifth set featured10 ties and was filled with emotion on both sides, but the Lady Eagles came away with the win. Meeks tied the frame for the last time with a kill, making the score 17-17. Kills by Brady and Schachleiter gave the Eagles the hard-fought victory.

Catawba worked hard in the fourth set, nearly leading from start to finish to send the contest to a deciding fifth set. The Indians turned a 6-6 tie into a 10-6 lead on a service ace by Parrish. Carson-Newman tied the set at 16-16, thanks to a Catawba error. Back-to-back Brady kills put the Eagles up 19-17.

Parrish helped Catawba take the fourth set, as she served four straight points to give the Indians a 22-19 advantage. Moran and Meeks recorded kills in the 4-0 run. Catawba finished the frame with a kill by Raye.

In the third set, Carson-Newman took the lead for good at 3-2 on a service ace by Hayes. Schachleiter’s kill put the Eagles up 12-7. Catawba cut the margin to 19-18, thanks to a kill by Raye. Schachleiter added two more kills down the stretch as Carson-Newman pulled away for the 25-20 victory. The set ended on a Catawba attack error.

A Schachleiter kill put Carson-Newman up 4-1 in the second set. The Eagles kept the advantage until late in the set, when Catawba took an 18-17 edge on a C-N error. The Eagles answered with four straight points, capped by a Cutter ace to make the score 21-18 Carson-Newman.

The Indians would not rest, as Catawba tied the second frame at 23-23 on a kill by junior middle blocker Katie Moran (Northville, Mich.) and a Carson-Newman error. A Cutter kill made it 24-23. The Eagles sealed the deal thanks to a Catawba error.

Catawba did not trail in the opening stanza. Back-to-back kills by sophomore middle blocker Taylor Doss (Boonville, N.C.) gave the Indians a 12-3 advantage. A Meeks kill put Catawba up 20-9. Consecutive kills by Whitmer and a Moran kill finished the set 25-11 for Catawba. The Indians hit .516 in the first set with 18 kills, two errors and 31 total attacks.