JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman wraps up a three-game homestand to open the 2021 spring schedule when Queens and Limestone swing by Holt Fieldhouse on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. respectively as South Atlantic Conference play rolls along.
Friday night will be a rubber matchup of sorts as Carson-Newman (1-0, 1-0) and Queens (1-0, 1-0) have split the first 18 meetings in the all-time series history. After dropping six of the first eight matchups, the Royals have rattled off seven of the last 10 including a regular-season sweep a year ago.
The Eagles won the most important contest of 2019 between the units, however, sweeping the Royals on their home floor in the SAC Tournament Championship match. Erin Edwards (Midlothian, Va.) led the way with 16 kills. Her offensive production, matched with three block assists and a dig in the championship match, earned her the SAC Tournament MVP.
Carson-Newman limited Queens to a .068 attack percentage in the match as Morgan Ballard racked up 40 digs to pace a defense that saw the front line tally 13 blocks. Casey Tarvin, a first-team All-SAC pick, was held to a .056 hitting clip making eight errors with a dozen kills.
Tarvin leads a trio of preseason All-SAC selections into the year with fellow pin Logan Witt and libero Jaycee Jones. She had six kills for the group in a three-set sweep of UVA Wise in the first match of the year with 16 players getting time on the floor.
Chanel Turner was the team's top offensive weapon in the match with 10 kills on 16 swings making just one attack error. Brooke Farley dished out 24 assists adding seven digs. The Royals held the Cavaliers to a minus-.047 hitting percentage with Wise making 24 hitting miscues.
Welcome to the club @CarsonNewmanVB rookies
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 28, 2021
�� @mckennahall07
�� @hbarton12
�� Ella Gay
�� @KeeranTaylor pic.twitter.com/ZOFOrrlvOU
In 2019, coach Hannah Long guided the team to a 24-7 overall record with a 19-3 tally in league action. The Royals dropped their final six sets of the year being swept by seventh-seeded Flagler in the regional seeing the Saints hit at a .243 margin.
The Eagles have only played the Saints three times doing so in 1998, 2008 and 2010. C-N holds a 2-1 edge winning the first two meetings before the Limestone left Holt Fieldhouse with a four-set victory on Oct. 23, 2010.
In that matchup, the Saints were 5-16 at the time but jumped out to a 2-0 match lead bouncing back after dropping the third with a 25-22 win in the fourth. Jordan Preville and Kassi Boedeker each had 11 kills for the victorious side. Carly Mozgai and Cary Swisher paced the Orange and Blue with 15 kills and nine smashes respectively.
Limestone is one of two teams along with Coker that did not play last weekend coming over from Conference Carolinas for its first season in the league. In 2019, the unit went 17-11 and 12-4 in the league, good for fourth overall and second in the eastern division.
Coach Brandon Skweres, a nine-year veteran, returns two first-team all-conference picks to the fold for the year. Bailey Carpenter was the Defensive Player of the Year in Conference Carolinas last season. The junior led the league with 5.93 digs per set. She had 14 matches with at least 20 digs with a season-high 39 in five sets against Georgia College on Oct. 15.
Vanessa Blas, a Newberry transfer, was a first-team pick in her first year as a Saint after being fifth in the league in kills per set with 3.04. The senior notched 18 double-digit kill matches with a season-high 22 at Mount Olive on Oct. 1 adding three double-doubles.
Both matches will feature a video broadcast on cneagles.com/live as the Eagle Sports Network provides the sights and sounds from the friendly confines.
- CN -
