PENSACOLA, Fla. – In the final match of the first day of the Hampton Inn-Vitational, No. 9 Central Missouri swept RV Carson-Newman 25-19, 25-13 and 25-19 Friday afternoon at UWF Field House.
"While the scoreboard may not reflect my statements, our girls grew today," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "We got better today! We are gaining invaluable experience playing teams of this caliber that will better prepare us for our conference play.
"On a day where competitive spirit and grit was tested to the limit, our girls at no point backed down from the challenge. We played ever point with the same focus and competitiveness. As a coach, it's a great feeling to know you have a team with no quit in them."
Carson-Newman (0-2) has begun the season with two losses for the second time in the last five years while Central Missouri (2-0) has won its first two matches for the second straight season.
The first set was hotly contested with 12 ties and seven lead changes. The frame was deadlocked at 18 when three consecutive errors by the Eagles allowed the Jennies to gain separation and win five of the final six points to take an early 1-0 lead.
Central Missouri pounded out 17 kills and hit .533 in the second stanza to take charge of the match. The frame was tied at five when the Jennies used an 11-1 spurt to take a 16-6 advantage. The deficit was too much to overcome for C-N as back-to-back kills from Kyle Hohlen ended the set.
Once again in the third set, the two teams were close. This time it was tied at nine when the ninth-ranked team in the country won eight of the next nine points to put a stranglehold on the match. C-N won seven of nine points late in the set to pull within four points but an attack error gave the match to Central Missouri.
The Jennies hit .402 in the match with 49 digs, six blocks and three service aces while the Eagles hit .147 with 36 digs, six service aces and two blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) racked up a team-high nine kills for the second straight match. Junior setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) had 20 assists and three digs while senior libero Taylor Lowe (Franklin, Tenn.) led the roster with 12 digs.
Hohlen paced the Jennies with 10 kills on a .562 attack percentage coupled with 13 digs on the day to finish as the lone player in double figures in the kill category. Kourtney Thompson added 28 assists and eight digs for Central Missouri.
"Our very inexperienced team will take our lessons learned and apply them to tomorrow and into the future," Franklin said. "What a journey we are about to embark on and I look forward to seeing how we grow."
Carson-Newman finishes play in the Hampton Inn-Vitational Saturday with a doubleheader against No. 26 Findlay at 10 a.m. and No. 23 West Florida at 3 p.m.
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