NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Taylor Keeran and Skylor Weaver combined for 15 kills on 25 swings without an error to lead Carson-Newman a sweep, 25-17, 25-11 and 25-20, over Trevecca Nazarene Tuesday evening at Trojan Fieldhouse.
"I am very impressed with the composure, grit and ability to compete well tonight," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We are starting to find a rhythm that we are comfortable with and that will propel us into the next level of the game."
The victory snapped a three-match road losing streak for Carson-Newman (6-6) as the Eagles took down Trevecca Nazarene (8-3) for the fourth match in a row dating back to 1992. In the match, the Orange and Blue hit .229 marking the fifth time in the last nine affairs that the club hit at least .200.
Keeran notched her second-career double-digit kill day with 10 smashes to tie for the team lead hitting .667 with two block assists. Weaver blasted five of the 10 sets she saw to the surface on the night. Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) equaled Keeran with 10 swats of her own.
Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) registered 26 assists, seven digs and two kills. Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) led all players with 17 digs.
�� @KeeranTaylor kills
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 22, 2021
1️⃣7️⃣ @hbarton12 digs
2️⃣6️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
2️⃣ @erinedwards31 blocks
�� @CarsonNewmanVB SWEEP! pic.twitter.com/9BHPoAg2Ca
It was a tight open to the day before the Trojans hopped on top 12-11. The Eagles punched back winning six of the next seven and 14 of the final 19 to seize control of the set and match to go ahead 1-0 on a kill from Cherry. All eight of the ties and all three of the lead changes came in the game.
The Eagles won each of the first six points of the second stanza and raced out to take a 19-6 lead before the home team won back-to-back points for the first time. A ball-handling error capped a dominating frame. Trevecca produced seven attack errors and just five smashes in the game.
Wasting no time to put the sweep into focus, Tiernan's unit won the first 10 points of the third set and despite Trevecca pulling within five on three occasions with a late surge, a hitting error from Emma Titus clinched the match. After making six hitting mistakes in the first two sets, the Eagles rebounded to make four in the final two sets with 11 kills apiece.
Through two sets, the Trojans committed 16 errors versus 14 total kills needed a .225 hitting third game to bring the overall margin to .065. Ellie Buffler led the way with seven kills but made as many miscues. Cholee McDaniel paced the team with 23 assists adding eight digs. Claire Hindman led the back line with 13 scoops.
The Eagles are back at this weekend returning to South Atlantic Conference action starting with a short road trip to visit Tusculum on Friday night at 7 p.m.
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