VIDEO: Ashley Tiernan Interview
VIDEO: Taylor Keeran Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Emmagrace Cobb notched a career-high 10 kills and Carson-Newman posted a .440 hitting margin in a dominating sweep, 25-12, 25-15 and 25-13, over UVA Wise Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse.
"Last night was a heartbreaker," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We folded under pressure a little bit and had multiple opportunities to close out the match and we didn't. Coming into today, I'm really proud of my team for rally around each one of them. We got every player in the game and for a roster size of 18, no matter who we put in we rallied around them and I'm very proud of what they did today."
Cobb's prior career best was seven set against Converse three weeks ago as the sophomore committed just one attack error on 15 swings for a .600 hitting percentage. Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) registered a monster day out of the middle with eight flawless blasts on 10 attacks for an .800 margin. The sophomore became the first Eagle since Carly Swisher, 292 matches and 3,665 days ago to hit .800 or better. Swisher did so against Johnson C. Smith on Oct. 7, 2011 with 12 blasts on 14 attacks.
"It was really good to play as a team today," Keeran said. "Last night we had some really great moments in the match but we weren't able to put it all together. Today we really played as a team even when there were people that usually don't play, we played together and as one."
All told, nine different players produced a kill in the match with the team hitting .440 on 40 kills. It was the first time since Sept. 21, 2019, 53 matches and 757 days ago, that the program hit above .400 in a contest.
Carson-Newman (7-7, 3-2) improves to 4-1 on the season inside of Holt Fieldhouse beating UVA Wise (3-9, 0-6) for the fourth straight meeting and handing the Cavs a 39th consecutive conference loss, the third-longest active string in the nation.
�� Emmagrace Cobb kills
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 25, 2021
1️⃣1️⃣ @hbarton12 digs
1️⃣7️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
1️⃣.5️⃣ @KeeranTaylor blocks
It all adds up to a quick sweep of Wise. pic.twitter.com/sC6DY6luAw
With a 5-3 edge, the Eagles rattled off eight of the next nine to go on top 13-4 in the opening set. Wise had a string where it won four in a row to cut the margin to 22-11 but the home group rung the bell winning three of the final four to win on an ace by Skylor Weaver (Katy, Texas).
In the second set, the score was tied at eight before the Eagles rattled off seven of eight to jump ahead 15-9. The Cavs trimmed the deficit to 15-12 only to see C-N win 10 of the final 13 to capture the game on an ace by Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.).
In the third, the Orange and Blue jumped out to a 13-4 bulge. Wise battled to claw within five at 17-12 but C-N answered by going on an 8-1 burst to seize the match on an ace by Cami Mincey (Jefferson City, Tenn.).
Carson-Newman finished the day with 16 aces as seven players logged as least one. Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) led the team with five adding 17 assists.
Wise managed just 20 kills for the match hitting .077 as a team on the day with one block, five aces and 26 digs. Adison Minor led the group with seven kills. Rylee Waye chipped in 12 assists and a team-high eight digs.
The Eagles hit the road once again on Friday travelling to Young Harris for a 6 p.m. first serve against the Mountain Lions.
- CN -
