Swisher swings Lady Eagles to sweep of Anderson

Swisher swings Lady Eagles to sweep of Anderson

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman senior Carly Swisher (Ft. Collins, Colo.) had 14 kills to lead the Lady Eagles to a sweep of visiting Anderson (S.C.) on Friday night in Holt Fieldhouse.

C-N won 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-17) to improve to 14-10 overall and 5-8 in South Atlantic Conference play. Anderson falls to 7-17 and 4-9 overall.

Swisher pounded at the Trojans throughout the match, hitting at a .684 clip to get to 14 kills. The senior right-side hitter had only one error in the match.

C-N hit .327 on the night with 43 kills and only nine errors in 104 total attempts. The Trojans hit just .171 with 20 errors.

The Lady Eagles broke a 13-13 tie in the first set on kills by Swisher and freshman Rachel Harper (Chattanooga, Tenn.) to move ahead 15-13. Another kill by Harper and three errors by AU would swing the set and match C-N's way.

C-N pulled away late again in the second set, breaking another 13-13 tie with a 9-2 run led by two Swisher kills to take a 22-15 lead and eventually a 2-0 lead in the match.

Carson-Newman put the match away early in the third set, roaring to a 12-7 lead and pulling away. Swisher and James each had four kills in the set as C-N took advantage of eight Trojan errors.

Senior middle Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) controlled the net, finishing with eight blocks and eight kills. Libero Rachael Bowlin (Morristown, Tenn.) had a match-high 18 digs  and Kristen Pickett (Cleveland, Tenn.) had 36 assists as a result of feeding James and Swisher throughout the night.  

Anderson's Shannon Gillespie matched Swisher for match-high honors in kills. She had 14 on 32 attempts and hit .375. Setter Megan Cautero added 25 assists and KAlieEndres chipped in 17 digs for the Trojans.

Carson-Newman returns to action tomorrow at noon vs. Newberry in Holt Fieldhouse. Anderson will face Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tenn.