Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (8-1, 5-0 South Atlantic Conference) play host to a trio of teams this weekend at Holt Fieldhouse. The action begins Friday night when the Wingate Bulldogs (9-2, 4-1 SAC) come to Mossy Creek for a 7 p.m. first serve. The Eagles will host Coker at 1 p.m. and Montevallo at 5 p.m. on Saturday to close out the weekend.
Carson-Newman is coming off of its second five-set victory of the season having to dispatch a pesky Lincoln Memorial club Tuesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
"I really have to give it to the girls," Carson-Newman coach Dan Ahiers said. "They worked really hard this summer. They really made a commitment to getting themselves better and this team better. They have come in very committed and they want to win a lot this year and they want to do it the right way."
Senior outside hitter Sara Fairley has been the leader over her last three outings averaging 4.58 kills per set while hitting .293 during that stretch.
The Eagles possess a seven-match winning streak that is tied for the 13th-longest at the Division II level while being the only team in the nation with five wins in league action.
"In practice we have obviously mixed up a lot of lineups," Ahiers said. "We've got our team prepared. You can also see in our matches, we are still trying lineups. The best part is, unlike other teams in our conference that are still trying to figure their lineups and taking losses because of it. Because we are such a deep, talented team we are still mixing our lineup and we are still getting the wins."
Wingate has a distinct advantage in the all-time series leading 41-14 in the previous 55 meetings. In the last match played by the two teams at Cuddy Arena on November 1, 2014, the Eagles prevailed in five sets against the seventh-ranked team in the nation snapping a 55-match SAC winning streak for Wingate. The Bulldogs had won 25 consecutive matches between the schools dating back to September 24, 2005 prior to the contest.
Wingate has been the class of the SAC having won the last nine regular season and tournament titles. The Bulldogs have made four trips to the NCAA Elite Eight including a trip last year before losing to Grand Valley State.
Since 2007, Wingate is 145-4 in SAC matches including a 71-2 mark in road matches. This season, the two losses for Wingate have come away from home, a four-set loss to Georgia College and five-set setback at Lenoir-Rhyne.
"He's clearly still trying to figure out his lineup," Ahiers said. "We've seen his middle blockers play back row. They've got some kind of setting controversy going on. They've got two setters that are trying to work it out."
The Bulldogs have continued to find success in slowing down their opponents yielding a league-best .121 attack percentage that ranks 27th nationally. No team has hit above .200 this season with an opponent hitting below .100 five times. The season-high for attack percentage is .183 by Tusculum on September 11 in a Wingate sweep.
2014 AVCA third-team All-American Abby Saehler has picked up where she left off last season averaging 3.50 kills per set while hitting .286.
Shelly Stumpff, a first-team All-SAC and All-Region pick in 2014, is leading the conference and ranks 50th nationally with 3.78 kills per set. Stumpff leads the SAC in total kills (140), kills per set, service aces (23), service aces per set (0.61), total points (171) and points per set (4.5).
Carson-Newman has won all four matches against Coker since the Cobras joined the SAC for the 2013 season. The Eagles have dropped just one set over that span after hitting .350 and .347 in the two matches in 2014.
Coker has just one win in SAC play since joining the conference for the 2013 season going 1-48 during that time. The lone victory came on October 18, 2014 in a road sweep of Brevard.
The Cobras have dropped six straight matches after winning their first two of the season against Cheyney and Shaw winning just three sets during that stretch.
Coker has used several setters this season with sophomore Christen Bragg leading the way. Bragg is one of 12 Division II players to record a triple-double this season doing so in a five-set loss to Mars Hill on September 11 tallying 34 assists, 14 digs and 13 kills.
Montevallo holds a slight 3-2 edge in the all-time series. The two programs have met just once since the turn of the millennium with the last time coming at Holt Fieldhouse on September 15, 2012 when Carson-Newman swept Montevallo as three Eagles had double-digit kills led by 12 from Rachel Harper and Lauren Santarelli.
Montevallo represents the Peach Belt Conference and has played three straight five-set matches winning one, at GRU Augusta on September 19.
The Falcons rank 38th in the nation in service aces averaging 1.93 per set while sitting 45th nationally with a .235 attack percentage.
Preseason All-Conference pick Rebekah Phelps is third on the team with 96 kills and second on the roster with 117 digs.
All three matches will be broadcast in high definition by visiting cneagles.com/live for the Eagle Sports Network's presentation with coverage beginning 10 minutes prior to the first serve of each match.
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