JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – National blocking leader Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) had six blocks and freshman Lauren Santarelli (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had 12 kills as the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles swept visiting Lander on Friday night in Holt Fieldhouse.

C-N won 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 26-24) to improve to 5-4 on the year. Lander falls to 6-5.

Carson-Newman controlled the first two sets to grab a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Eagles took the first set behind a pair of late kills by senior Carly Swisher (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and eight Lander errors, grabbing an early 8-4 lead in the set and never looking back.  

James helped C-N handle the Bearcats in the second set. The senior had four blocks in the frame as her squad took a 17-8 lead. Santarelli provided the offense with five kills in the set.

C-N survived a late Lander rally during the third set. After jumping out 14-9 and leading 22-20 late, LU rallied to take the lead at 24-22, but C-N scraped together the last four points for the win behind two Lander errors.

"It felt good for us to get the win heading into the weekend," C-N head coach Shannon Mincey said after the match. "We really wanted to get those three losses off our back, and it was nice to do that against a regional opponent."

Freshman Blair Fields (Bluff City, Tenn.) had 13 digs to lead C-N, playing in place of junior libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.), who sat out with an injury. Sophomore Courtney Lawson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) added 18 assists.

Lander's Jessica Register led the Bearcats with 31 assists and senior Mallory Wasik had 14 kills.

The Lady Eagles return to action on Tuesday evening in Harrogate, Tenn. against rival Lincoln Memorial University. The game begins a stretch of 11-of-12 games away from Holt Fieldhouse of the Lady Eagles.

C-N returns home Sept. 27 against Mars Hill.