WISE, Va. – Four players finished with double-digit kills and Carson-Newman posted a season-high 13 blocks to wrap up the South Atlantic Conference regular season with a four-set win, 25-16, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-14, over UVA Wise at the Prior Convocation Center.
"Finishing the regular season with a win is always a positive and we are excited to head into tournament play next week," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We spread our offense well having four athletes with double-digit kills shows that ability of ours."
Carson-Newman (18-13, 11-7) snaps a two-match losing streak on the year beating UVA Wise (4-22, 0-18) for the fifth meeting in a row needing four sets for the second time. The Cavaliers drop a 52nd consecutive conference match dropping to 0-48 all-time in SAC action.
Erin Edwards (Midlothian, Va.) matched a season high with 17 kills, a number she hit for the third time, while hitting .500 with 3.5 total blocks. Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) added a dozen kills hitting .172 and Emmagrace Cobb (Greensboro, N.C.) logged a career-high 11.
Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) added a double-double for the second straight night with 10 kills and a team-leading 19 digs. Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) produced a double-double of her own with 27 assists and 15 digs.
Taylor Rohr (Windsor, Colo.) chipped in 25 assists, McKenna Hall (Bristol, Wis.) added 18 digs and Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) tossed in 13 scoops.
As a team, the Eagles finished with 64 kills hitting .267 on the night with 13 rejections with seven players notching at least one. C-N added 84 digs and four aces.
1️⃣7️⃣ kills and 3️⃣.5️⃣ blocks from @erinedwards31
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 14, 2021
1️⃣9️⃣ @juliawheerr digs
2️⃣7️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
It all adds up to a @CarsonNewmanVB win. pic.twitter.com/ToopKV9Hgq
Wise jumped out to an early edge in the first frame going ahead 4-3 before the Eagles ripped off eight in a row to take a lead it would never relinquish. Carson-Newman won five of the final six points with Wheeler blasting a ball to the floor to clinch a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second stanza featured nine ties and four lead changes. Despite the Eagles opening up a 9-4 lead, Wise used a 10-4 sequence to go on top 14-13. The Orange and Blue won the next three and with the score tied at 16, they won nine of the final 10 including each of the last eight to go on top 2-0.
In the third set, Wise snapped a 29-set losing streak having not taken a frame since Oct. 9 against Catawba. The Eagles led 13-7 before the Cavs won four straight and eight of the next 10 to tie the tally at 15. After a 5-0 burst put the home club ahead 21-17, C-N snuck back within a 22-21 margin before the Cavs grabbed the upper hand with a block to take the game.
Carson-Newman trailed 11-9 in the fourth set before scoring seven points in a row to take a lead before cruising allowing just three points to Wise finishing the game on a 16-3 burst to put a punctuation mark on the regular season.
Wise was limited to 40 kills on the night and a .081 hitting percentage adding seven aces, seven blocks and 63 digs. Adison Minor led the charge up front with 13 kills on a .158 hitting margin nearly double the number of her next closest teammate.
Rylee Waye passed out 20 assists adding seven digs with Kelsey Green leading the way in the back with 14 digs registering five of the team's seven aces.
The Eagles open the SAC Tournament on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne travelling to Shuford Gym to face a Bears club that C-N swept at Holt Fieldhouse on Oct. 19.
- CN -
