VIDEO: Dave Franklin Interview
Carson-Newman Volleyball Match Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Senior liberos Eileen Anderson and Taylor Lowe will play their final matches in their four-year careers this weekend as Carson-Newman hosts Brevard Friday night at 7 p.m. and Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday at 2 p.m.
Anderson and Lowe will be honored in a pre-match ceremony Friday night at Holt Fieldhouse as the Eagles wrap up South Atlantic Conference play.
"They have been very supportive," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "I have done things differently. They have been very open to the new techniques and expectations that I have put on them from a different coaching style. As a first-time coach trying to get your style and fundamentals implemented, it's nice to have seniors that are willing and realize it is just part of the process."
Anderson has played in 75 matches in her career and 172 sets recording 136 digs and 39 service aces over her four seasons. The Pittstown, N.J. native has three matches in her career with double-digit digs including a career high of 11 doing so twice this season.
Lowe has produced one of the most illustrious careers in C-N history as she moved into second place on the program's all-time digs list on Oct. 25, 2016 at Tusculum and currently has 2,183. With 630 scoops on the year, the Franklin, Tenn. native has the fifth-most digs in a single-season in program history. In her career, the libero has led the Eagles in digs 93 times and has 41 contests with 20 more scoops. Her career-high for digs is 39 having done so two times including in the Southeast Region Championship match against Lenoir-Rhyne in Dec. 6, 2015. Lowe was a preseason Southeast Region All-Tournament Team selection.
In its final volleyball match at the Division II level, Brevard looks for its first win against Carson-Newman in its 21st opportunity.
The Tornados were on the cusp of a victory in the first meeting this year winning the first two sets before falling in the final three. It snapped an eight-match skid for C-N at the time.
Carson-Newman clubbed a .175 attack percentage with 91 digs, 13 total blocks and four service aces while Brevard countered with a .095 hitting clip, 95 digs, 14 service aces and seven total rejections.
Freshman outside hitter Marnie Streeter (Goldvein, Va.) led the Eagles with 14 kills on a .233 attack percentage to go along with six digs. Freshman Abbie McFarlane (McKinney, Texas) chipped in her second double-double of the year with 13 kills and 13 digs.
Lowe finished with 28 digs while junior setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.) added 41 assists and 11 digs.
Savannah Cox led the charge for the Tornados with a match-high 18 kills and Ruble tossed in 13 kills. Callie Chappell and Bri Vargas tallied double-doubles with 10 kills and 12 digs and 41 assists and 14 digs respectively.
Brevard has lost four straight matches and seven of its last eight overall. The lone win in that mix is a four-set triumph over Tusculum at home on Oct. 21. The Tornados have lost seven in-a-row on the road with their last win away from home coming on Sept. 17 at Mars Hill, a five-set victory over the Lions.
Coach Anna Wagner's team is one of the worst blocking teams in the country and the worst in the league this season. With 129.5 total rejections and 1.26 per set, Brevard is 240th and 259th in the country and allowing a .215 attack percentage from its opponents to rank 244th in Division II.
Senior libero Aleksandra Vrvilo is 23rd in the country with 553 digs and 5.37 scoops per set, ranking fourth in the conference in both areas.
C-N and L-R will match up for the 53rd time as the Eagles hold a 32-20 lead in the all-time series while the Bears go for their first season sweep since 2013.
After dropping the first two sets, the Eagles won sets three and four and held a 13-12 advantage in the fifth set before the Bears used a timeout and won the last three points of the match to seal the contest.
On the night Carson-Newman hit .218 with 73 digs, 12 total blocks and six service aces while Lenoir-Rhyne countered with a .199 hitting percentage, 85 digs, seven service aces and seven rejections.
McFarlane paced all players with a career-high 22 kills coupled with 10 digs for her second double-double in as many contests. Sophomore middle blocker Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) joined the rookie in double-digits for kills with 10 paired with a team-high 3.5 total blocks.
Patton notched 49 assists with seven digs and three total rejections.
Lenoir-Rhyne put three players in double figures for kills led by 17 from Emily Steele who hit .455 on the night with nine digs. Brandi Thomas finished with 12 kills and Jaclyn Denny had 11.
Jessica Funk finished with 50 assists, 15 digs and six kills for the Bears.
Lenoir-Rhyne is on the fringe of the league tournament entering the weekend seventh but is riding a hot streak. Following a four-match skid, L-R has won three straight including a sweep of Wingate and a four-set win over Queens, two of the top three teams in the SAC.
Conversely to Brevard, Lenoir-Rhyne is the top blocking team in the league ranking 18th nationally with 233 rejections and 11th with 2.31 blocks per set.
Emily Steele is third in the league with 1.02 blocks per set while placing 10th in the SAC with an attack percentage of .254.
Each match will have a high definition video stream available on cneagles.com/live as the Eagle Sports Network provides commentary of the broadcast.
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