VIDEO: Rachel Harper Interview

Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Returning to South Atlantic Conference action, the Carson-Newman Eagles (15-3, 9-1 SAC) travel to face the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (10-5, 9-2 SAC) Friday night at 7 p.m. and the Brevard Tornados (8-9, 5-6 SAC) Saturday at noon.

"It's going to be tough matches," Carson-Newman assistant coach Rachel Harper said. "We are preparing ourselves as well as possible in practice. Mentally, we just had a team-bonding experience yesterday carving pumpkins so hopefully everyone's spirits will be up and it will just be a fun weekend."

Junior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) needs eight digs this weekend to move into sole possession of fifth place on the program's all-time dig list. Lowe has 1.266 in her career trailing Kendra Rickersten's 1,273 career total.

"She's been such a key role to our success here at Carson-Newman," Harper said. "It was so much fun playing with her and now getting to see her from a coaching perspective, it's even better. I'm just proud of her and proud of the way she has developed as a leader as well. She's going to be phenomenal next year as well."

The Eagles lead the all-time series over the Bears 29-18 including a 3-0 thrashing at Holt Fieldhouse on September 11 this season as Carson-Newman hit a season-high .388 in the match. Senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) led all players in the match with 19 kills on a .562 attack percentage. No one on the Bears had more than six kills despite just three blocks from Carson-Newman.

The Bears have won nine of their last 10 outings since a loss to the Eagles including a five-set victory over Wingate while racking up a 5-0 record at home.

Lenoir-Rhyne ranks 19th as a team at the Division II level in digs per set on the year averaging 18.43 digs per set despite the team leader, Briana Gottberg, putting up 3.57 digs per set, 12th in the league.

Reigning Freshman of the Year Brooke Redmond is the team leader in kills per set and points per set ranking sixth in the SAC with 3.10 kills per frame and fifth in the league with 3.63 points per stanza.

The Eagles have never lost a match to Brevard going 18-0 all-time winning the first match of the year in three sets hitting .264 compared to Brevard's .089 clip. Six different players notched at least five kills for the Eagles in the contest as sophomore setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) finished with 23 assists.

The Tornados have won six of their last seven matches after winning just two of their first 10 matches. Brevard has won three consecutive home matches marking the first time it has accomplished that feat since the end of the 2007 season.

Brevard is 29th nationally averaging 18.14 digs per set on the year but is yielding a .184 attack percentage, a number that ranks 160th in Division II.

Ranking 10th in the league and 212th in nation the Tornados attack percentage is .146 on the season.

Fatima Gharachorloo has been the key to the Brevard offense ranking fifth in the nation with 12.54 attacks per set on the year while ranking third in the league with 3.39 kills per set and 3.79 points per set.

To stay current with live stat links and the coverage from this weekend's matches, fans are encouraged to follow @CNathletics and @CarsonNewmanVB on Twitter for in-match updates.

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