NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With two more matches to go before returning home to Holt Fieldhouse, Carson-Newman packs its bags again travelling to Trevecca Nazarene for a 7 p.m. first serve from Trojan Fieldhouse Tuesday night.
Carson-Newman (5-6) is looking to find its footing away from Mossy Creek, where the team is 7-2 over the last two years. In the same span, the group is 5-8 when playing in gyms other than Holt Fieldhouse after going 10-2 in Tiernan's first year. The Eagles have dropped three straight road affairs since beating Lincoln Memorial in five sets on March 26, 2021.
The attack has started to find its form hitting .198 over the last eight matches with three outings of .239 or better. In the first three affairs of the year, the team committed 70 attack errors and hit .053 as a team. All six of the team's main attacking options are averaging at least a kill per set.
Tuesday evening is the sixth all-time meeting and the second this millennium with the Eagles on top 4-1. The teams played twice each in 1992 and 1993 but the Orange and Blue have come out on top in each of the last three including a Sept. 13, 2013 match in Bristol.
Carson-Newman handed Trevecca Nazarene (8-2) its first loss of the year triumphing in five frames. Rachel Harper led the offense with 18 kills and 15 digs while Kristen Pickett handed out 42 assists. Emily Schultz and Kiayna O'Neal added 15 and 10 smashes respectively in the victory.
In 2021, the Trojans opened the year with seven straight wins, four by sweeps, but have dropped two of their last three matches. Half of the team's victories have come in five frames including a comeback win at Cedarville on Saturday where the team was behind 2-1.
The program is already halfway to its best win total over the past half decade winning 16 matches in 2016, its last winning season at 16-13, and 2019 with three years of single-digit wins mixed in. To find the last postseason berth, you have to go back to 2015 when the unit went 20-12 beating Cedarville for the GMAC Tournament title before being swept by Ferris State in the NCAA Tournament's first round.
Efficiency has been a major key with the team posting a .225 team hitting percentage clubbing the ball at better than a .200 mark in seven of the 10 matches. Austyn Baldwin is second on the roster in kills with 2.38 per set and is hitting .370.
Chloee McDaniel is doing it all for the Trojans leading the team with 8.87 kills per and four double-doubles this year. She has also tallied multiple kills in nine of 10 matches with a season-high seven as part of a 43-assists, eight-dig day in a five-set win over Christian Brothers.
Stats and video for the match can be found in one place by clicking here with the latest news and notes on the program always available by following @CN_Eagles on Twitter.
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