NEWBERRY, S.C. – For the final time in 2021, Carson-Newman plays two road weekend matches in South Atlantic Conference play starting on Friday at Newberry at 7 p.m. and rounding out the weekend at Anderson on Saturday for a 2 p.m. first serve against the Trojans.
"We are going to come in this week and continue to work on the things that we need to work on," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We don't necessarily think there is a band-aid to fix. We go into Friday and Saturday confidently doing the things that we know how to do well and get lucky when we can."
Prior to Tuesday night, Carson-Newman (9-9, 5-4) had won five straight matches following a loss and is looking to avoid its first four-match losing skid since the end of the 2016 season when the group dropped 13 consecutive affairs to end the campaign.
The good news is the Eagles start the weekend against a team they have dominated in the all-time series to the tune of a 38-10 advantage including wins in each of the last six over Newberry (8-7, 3-5). C-N has dropped four total sets in that stretch and is looking to avoid its first loss to the Wolves since falling in five at Eleazer Arena on Sept. 15, 2017.
Coach Ross Kessler's team enters the weekend with three straight losses since beating Coker in three games on Sept. 30, 15 days before the Friday evening contest. The Wolves are 3-3 at home after starting the 2021 season with six straight away from campus.
Newberry is one of the top defensive teams in the league limiting opponents to a .134 hitting percentage, a number that ranks fourth in the conference and 36th nationally. Zoe Dinkins leads that charge placing fourth in the nation with 1.40 blocks per set. She has had at least three in 11 matches in a row with five of at least five.
On the attack, the Wolves are fourth in the league in efficiency hitting .197 with nearly a dozen kills per set. Natasha Bannister is a big reason why as she leads the conference with 3.51 per set on average. The senior is hitting .280 and has 10 double-digit efforts on the year highlighted by 23 against Anderson on Sept. 22. She has been nearly unstoppable at home with 4.30 kills per set while hitting .331 in 23 sets played at Eleazer Arena.
Saturday is the 30th contest against Anderson (11-5, 6-2) as the Trojans cling to a 16-13 edge aided by a 7-4 mark at the Abney Athletic Center. C-N has dropped eight of the last 11 meetings but two of those victories have come in the postseason including one in 2019 during the team's Region Championship run.
Coach Todd Hay's group is looking to keep pace for a regular-season championship sitting one game in the loss column behind Tusculum with two games in hand. The only two losses in SAC play have come in four frames to Tusculum and five to Wingate. Since the loss to the Bulldogs, the Trojans have scooped up three straight sweeps.
Anderson is the most efficient attacking team in the league behind a .237 hitting margin and a string of six straight matches of a .220 clip or better. The team has hit above .200 a dozen times and has as many night of a .300 percentage as hitting below .200 with four of each.
Madison Roy leads the league and is 13th in the country with 10.83 assists per set eclipsing 40 in a match nine times. The senior has seven double-doubles and has added 19 aces.
Seven players are posting at least two kills per set on the year led by 2.83 from Reagan Duty who is sixth in the league in hitting percentage at a .320 margin. She has eight matches in double figures anchored by a 20-kill night on a .457 hitting percentage in a four-set win over Mars Hill on Sept. 24.
Stats and video for Newberry and stats and video for Anderson are available for this weekend's matches while fans are encouraged to follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and notes on the program.
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