VIDEO: Dave Franklin Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Tusculum picked up its first win against Carson-Newman since the 2013 season to end a four-match losing streak to the Eagles with a four-set victory, 25-18, 25-18, 20-25 and 25-20, Tuesday evening at Holt Fieldhouse in South Atlantic Conference play.
"We're growing," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "It doesn't look like it but we are growing. We are not a big offensive team or a big blocking team so one of the ways we need to take advantage is to be really aggressive from the service line. When you have to be aggressive and we need to risk it you are risking misses. Give Tusculum credit, they had one error on 71 swings."
Carson-Newman (1-10, 1-6) has lost six matches in-a-row for the first time since dropping eight straight affairs from Sept. 20 to Oct. 16, 1999.
Tusculum (7-4, 4-3) had won just one set during the four-match losing streak to the Eagles dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season.
The first set saw Tusculum hit .467 as a team using a late surge to gain a 1-0 advantage. Carson-Newman trailed 15-11 and won five of six points to tie the score at 16 and for a timeout from TC coach Michael Robinson. The Pioneers won eight of the next nine points and a kill from Laryssa Welch closed the first frame.
The second stanza featured eight ties and three lead changes. With the score deadlocked at 16, Tusculum surged for seven unanswered points to take control of the set as the Eagles were held to a .125 attack percentage.
The Eagles took a 7-3 lead out of the gates in the third set. The Pioneers pulled within three points at 13-10 when C-N won six of eight points to go ahead 19-12. Tusculum won six straight points to close within a single rally. The run was halted by freshman outside hitter Abbie McFarlane (McKinney, Texas) and the Eagles held on to win the game.
In the fourth set, Carson-Newman took an 8-3 advantage before giving up 11 of the next 12 points to fall behind 14-9. The Eagles pulled within two points at 14-12 and 20-18 but Tusculum won five of the final seven rallies to close out the match.
Overall in the contest, Tusculum notched a .247 hitting percentage with 82 digs, five service aces and three total blocks compared to Carson-Newman's .128 clip, 70 digs a season-high 11 service aces and six total rejections.
Sophomore middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) matched her season-high with 11 kills while tallying a career-high seven digs for the third time in career.
Junior setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) notched her third double-double of the season going for 33 assists and 11 digs with four kills.
Tusculum's Aubrey Hawkins led all players with 13 kills on the day with a .480 attack percentage while Hallie Zumack posted 23 assists and 12 digs.
Carson-Newman returns to action Friday evening at 7 p.m. to close out the month of September against Queens (N.C.) at Holt Fieldhouse. Broadcast coverage is on the Eagle Sports Network on cneagles.com/live beginning five minutes prior to the first serve.
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