Georgia College Tournament Page
AIKEN, S.C. – Carson-Newman, winners of a season-high three straight matches, takes its show on the road again with its final non-conference challenges of 2021 playing four matches over two days in the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Crossover on Friday and Saturday.
The Eagles open play at USC Aiken's Convocation Center on Friday at 2 p.m. against Lander capping the day at 4 p.m. against the Pacers. After the two-hour trek to Georgia College, the team takes on the Bobcats at 11 a.m. on Saturday wrapping up play at 5 p.m. versus Augusta.
"We have to keep playing well," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We have to take what we've learned and what we've done and go play these Peach Belt teams to put a run together for the regional rankings."
Carson-Newman (12-9, 8-4) is looking for its first four-match winning streak since the start of the spring season with the last string longer coming with seven in a row to end the 2019 campaign leading to a SAC Tournament title and NCAA Southeast Region Championship.
To open the weekend, the Orange and Blue faces Lander (8-8) for the 16th with an 11-4 all-time edge in the series. While the Bearcats have never beaten the Eagles at home, they are 2-0 in neutral site affairs including a five-set triumph at Aiken on Sept. 7, 2018.
Coach Jeff Reynolds's team has dropped three in a row and five of the last six since starting the campaign 7-3. Two of the losses were in five frames and the last three have all required four sets. This is the second time that the unit is playing in a tournament at Aiken winning three of four on Sept. 10-11 including a sweep of fellow SAC team Coker.
Averaging 2.13 aces per set, the Bearcats rank 19th in the country with six matches with at least 10. The standout star of the roster is Christina Aguayo who ranks 14th in Division II with 4.13 kills per set scoring nearly five points on average. The sophomore has been in double figures in 16 of the 18 contests with four outings of at least 20.
Only 45 of the 285 clubs in the nation average fewer blocks per set than Lander's 1.31 as the unit has recorded five or fewer in half of the outings on the year. It has not hampered the team as foes are hitting .147, the 60th-best mark in the country.
USC Aiken (14-3) holds the lead in the series, 10-5, through the first 15 contests. C-N has dropped six of the last seven affairs. The Eagles have never won a match on the road in the series falling in all seven outings with one five-set decision coming in 2002.
When the teams faced off on Sept. 3, Aiken hit .220 and received 16 kills each from Alie Smith and Sadie McKay to win in four sets. Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) was the lone Eagle in double figures with 11 in the second match of her career.
The Pacers are 4-3 in their last seven outings after opening the season with 10 straight wins. The club has won nine of its 11 home games but have dropped two of the last three including a five-set loss to Flagler on Oct. 8.
Coach Glenn Cox's team is one of the most efficient in the region hitting .205 and are led on the outside by Smith, the reigning PBC Player of the Year. She has been in double figures in all but two matches but both of those have come over the last four.
To open the Saturday slate, the Eagles take on Georgia College (8-14) for the fourth meeting with the Bobcats clinging to a 2-1 edge. C-N secured the win in the last meeting sweeping the 'Cats at Holt Fieldhouse behind a dozen kills from Marnie Streeter.
Losers of four of its last six, Georgia College has won only four of its nine home matches while half of the team's overall losses have come in straight sets. The Bobcats have won back-to-back matches three times this season including one, three-match winning streak.
On the attack, the team is averaging 10.23 kills per set and tallying a .132 attack percentage. Sarah Stewart and Ally Hall are 11th and 12th respectively in the NCAA in total attacks as the duo has more than double any other player on the roster and combined for greater than 50 percent of the team's swings.
Rounding out the weekend is a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Southeast Region title contest against Augusta (13-5) for the 16th all-time meeting. Carson-Newman swept that contest for its second region trophy while winning a sixth straight over the Jaguars with wins in 12 of the last 13. The lone blemish in that stretch came on Sept. 13, 2014, an Augusta sweep on its home floor.
Since starting the year 0-2, the Jags have reeled off wins in 13 of the last 16 but have lost two of the last four including a five-set loss to Georgia College last Friday. Eleven of the team's matches have been on neutral sites going 9-2 with wins in nine in a row.
As one of the most balanced teams in the Southeast, five players are averaging two-plus kills per set led by 2.67 from Kylie Martin who has double digits in five of the last six after a six-match drought without cresting 10.
Stats and video will be available for the matches by clicking on the tournament central pages from USC Aiken and Georgia College. Follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter for the latest updates throughout all of the matches.
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