AIKEN, S.C. – Carson-Newman could not find its attacking rhythm suffering its first sweep of the year to Embry-Riddle, 16-25, 22-25 and 14-25, in the first of its doubleheader on Saturday in the USC Aiken Invitational at the Convocation Center.
The Orange and Blue were limited to a minus-.058 hitting percentage committing 11 of its 28 attack errors in the opening game. It was a rare hitting night for the program and first time since 2004 that the unit has had more errors than kills in a match. The only time the team hit .000 came on Sept. 5, 2009 against West Alabama.
Embry-Riddle won the first three points and never looked back in the opening game starting off the day with a 9-3 advantage thanks to five attack errors by C-N. The Eagles closed the gap to 10-7 only to see the opposing Eagles win nine of the next 11 to open up a 10-point lead. Emily Weaver punctuated the set with a blast.
Despite an early 5-2 hole in the third, Carson-Newman stormed back to tie the score at six and seven but could not keep pace giving up seven unanswered points. Coach Ashley Tiernan's team continued to fight getting with two points at 24-22. A solo block by Amelia Hartnett sealed a 2-0 edge in the match.
In the third, Carson-Newman won four straight to flip a deficit into a 10-9 lead but it would be the last edge of the match as Embry-Riddle reeled off 16 of the final 20 points of the match to clinch the sweep.
Carson-Newman is winless in the first three matches of the year for the first time since 2016 when the unit lost to a pair of top 10 teams and four ranked units over the first weekend of the year. This is the third time in school history with a 0-3 start in addition to the 2012 season.
Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) was the lone member of team Talons Up to hit above .000 with five kills on 15 swings. Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led the way with six kills. Abbey Hildenbrand posted 15 assists, seven digs and three kills with Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) adding nine digs and two aces.
Embry-Riddle registered a .232 hitting margin and produced a dozen blocks as a team in the match. Cameron Gilleland led all players with 12 smashes and Jaden McBride tacked on 10. Sam Lanning tallied four total blocks and Harnett had 3.5. Weaver handed out 27 assists and scooped up five balls.
The Eagles wrap up the tournament against Converse starting at 3 p.m. to conclude the opening weekend of the 2021 campaign.
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