MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – Carson-Newman tallied a .260 attack percentage with three players finishing in double figures to close out the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Crossover on a three-match winning streak beating Augusta at the Centennial Center in four sets, 25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15, on Saturday.
"We did a great job of scoring in big moments and not letting any error affect the next play," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "Our composure and competitiveness was the key to our success today."
Carson-Newman (15-10) beats Augusta (8-17) for a seventh consecutive meeting and 13th time in the last 14 affairs. The Eagles are 5-0 against the Jaguars in neutral sit meetings.
Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) continued her efficient hitting piling up 14 smashes on a .423 hitting clip to tie Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) for the team-high as the redshirt-sophomore added seven scoops.
Skylor Weaver (Katy, Texas) notched her second double-digit kill effort of the day with 10 on 16 swings for a .562 attack percentage chipping in two aces and six digs.
Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) passed out 45 assists with three aces and seven digs. Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) led the way with 17 digs and Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) compiling a dozen.
1️⃣4️⃣ @juliawheerr kills
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 23, 2021
1️⃣7️⃣ @blakecherry11 digs
4️⃣5️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
1️⃣.5️⃣ Ella Gay blocks
7️⃣ straight @CarsonNewmanVB wins over Augusta pic.twitter.com/aoJL3Nrj61
Overall in the match there were 35 ties and 11 lead changes starting with nine ties in the first game. At 12-12, the Eagles took four unanswered and rattled off 11 of 14 points to jump out to a 23-15 thanks to an ace from Wheeler. Cherry polished off the first frame with a kill.
There were 15 ties in the second stanza with the score level at 22 before C-N ripped off the final three points, the final two coming on attack errors by Chloe Allen.
In the third set, the Eagles were on top 20-19 after there were 10 ties but Augusta won four straight to go ahead 23-20 getting its lone set of the day on an ace by Kylie Martin.
Carson-Newman's attack was on fire in the fourth hitting .520 as a team with 14 smashes on just 25 swings. With a 9-7 edge in the fourth, the Eagles rattled off eight of 10 points to go on top 17-9 before Weaver put the finishing touches on the match with a kill.
Allen paced the Jaguars on the front line with 15 blasts hitting .267 with eight digs. Martin was the only other player in double figures with a dozen hitting .300. Samantha Zittrauer led the way with 25 assists and Holland Martin pitched in 16 digs.
The Eagles return to the friendly confines on Thursday to take on Anderson at 6 p.m. for a match that will air on the Eagle Sports Network by visiting cneagles.com/live.
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