HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Carson-Newman posted one of its most balanced offensive efforts in two years taking down Coker in four frames, 25-17, 29-31, 25-12 and 25-13, Friday night at the DeLoach Center in South Atlantic Conference play.
"I am very proud of the aggressiveness we showed in the last two sets," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We had four athletes with double-digit kills because we are doing a better job of moving our shots around and listening to our defense."
Carson-Newman (9-7, 5-2) wins over the Cobras for the 12th time in 15 meeting including for a third straight contest. Four players finished with double-digit kills for the first time since Oct. 19, 2019 when the Eagles took down 22nd-ranked Wingate at Holt Fieldhouse.
Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led the way with 15 kills, the eighth time this season that the sophomore has produced double digits. Erin Edwards (Midlothian, Va.) hit .429 with 11 smashes.
Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 20 digs, the second time she has hit that threshold during her rookie campaign.
Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) flirted with a triple-double handing out 29 assists tallying a career-high 10 kills on a .400 margin with seven digs. Skylor Weaver (Katy, Texas) registered four total blocks and Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) tacked on 26 digs.
Meanwhile Coker (1-14, 0-9) sees its losing streak extend to 13 in a row, the ninth-longest losing streak in the nation, hanging with UVA Wise at the two teams in the league without a win. The loss was the eighth straight setback at home against the SAC.
1️⃣5️⃣ @juliawheerr kills
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 9, 2021
2️⃣6️⃣ @hbarton12 digs
2️⃣9️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
4️⃣ @skylorweaver_ blocks
3️⃣ straight @CarsonNewmanVB wins pic.twitter.com/p6XGHM1wtb
Holding a 7-5 edge in the first, the Eagles reeled off three straight and maintained a four-point bulge before a 5-2 sequence opened up a 20-13 lead. The Orange and Blue continued their push sealing the opening game thanks to a smash by Edwards.
Coker snapped a 17-set losing streak winning its first game since Sept. 21 but need a crazy second stanza that featured 16 ties and seven lead changes to do it. Carson-Newman led 19-14 before charging back to tie the score at 23. A kill from Hildenbrand gave the visitors a set point that they could not put away. It was one of four set points for the Eagles but they could not cash in. The Cobras took the game on a kill from Taylor Parker.
Tiernan's unit coasted in the third set opening up with an 8-3 surge and pushing it back out to 14-8 after the Cobras closed the gap to two. Back-to-back Coker attack errors clinched the game for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman held a one-point lead at 6-5 in the fourth before an 8-0 burst, the second-longest scoring run by the club this season, made it 14-5. The Eagles never looked back seeing Wheeler whack the ball to the ground to secure the victory.
Coker produced 39 kills on a .085 hitting percentage with seven blocks and 55 digs. Chelsey Blume led the roster with 11 kills hitting .318 adding three solo blocks. The rest of the attacking options combined for 28 kills and 23 errors. Rami Mullen posted a double-double with 30 assists and a dozen digs, tying Makayla Harris for the team lead.
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday facing off against Wingate inside of Cuddy Arena at 2 p.m.
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