AIKEN, S.C. – Riding the wave a three-match winning streak, Carson-Newman prepares for a second four-match weekend to begin the 2022 campaign heading to the Pacer Invitational in South Carolina with a 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. contest on Friday against Auburn-Montgomery and USC Aiken respectively. On Saturday the Orange and Blue face off against Francis Marion at 10 a.m. and North Greenville at 3 p.m.
The Eagles are looking for their first four-match winning streak since start the Spring 2021 season with four victories in a row. To find a streak longer than that, you have to go back to the end of the 2019 campaign when the unit rattled off seven straight triumphs en route to the SAC Tournament title and Southeast Region Championship.
After going 12-10 in road and neutral matches in 2021, this year's unit has four such wins in five tries and recorded one winning streak of longer than two matches coming in late October in the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Crossover.
Carson-Newman (4-1) clashes with Auburn-Montgomery (2-2) for the first time. The Warhawks opened the year in Arkadelphia, Ark. bouncing back after two sweeps to beat Ouachita Baptist in five frames and Cameron in straight stanzas.
Kendall McCain has been the team's top attacking option producing double-digit smashes in all four contests on the year while hitting .317. The highlight came in the third match of the year with 19 adding eight service aces and 10 digs.
At the net, the team has only recorded 13 blocks for the season with no more than five in any of the first four matches. Opponents meanwhile have racked up at least five in all four affairs and 28 total for the season.
USC Aiken (4-0) and C-N is slated to square off for the 17th time with the Pacers holding a 10-6 edge. Last year the teams tussled twice with the Eagles dropping the first in four sets before coming back to win a wild five-set affair on Oct. 22. Despite Aiken holding a 61-56 edge in the kills category, the Eagles committed eight fewer errors and posted a .213 hitting percentage using 10 blocks to maintain the overall lead in the match.
After missing the postseason for the first time since 2013, Glenn Cox's team has dropped two sets starting the year with four wins entering this weekend. The Pacers have won at least 18 games every season since the 2011 year, Cox's fourth at the helm.
Six players are posting at least two kills per set after the team hit .189 over the opening weekend. Abbey Schad leads the way tallying double figures in her last two including a dozen in a sweep of Lenoir-Rhyne.
Saturday will be the 10th meeting with Francis Marion (3-0) with C-N holding a slight 5-4 lead. It will be the first meeting since the Eagles earned a sweep on Sept. 30, 2017. Emily Harnischfeger reset her career high with 13 kills as Carson-Newman limited Francis Marion to a minus-.010 hitting percentage.
The Patriots started the year at the Erskine Tournament winning three matches dropping a pair of sets after winning 21 contests and going to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 falling to Lenoir-Rhyne in the first round.
Katie Kemp is the team's leader on the pins racking up 35 over the first three matches including 15 on 46 swings in a win over West Georgia. She is one of five players with at least 20 kills this year.
The Eagles have only seen North Greenville (3-2) twice in volleyball winning in four sets in the most recent affair on Sept. 14, 2013 and in straight sets on Oct. 10, 2008. In 2013, Rachel Harper led the way with 15 kills on an impressive .314 hitting percentage while Jalesa Beaver collected 12 smashes on a .450 attack percentage.
It was a challenging opening weekend for the club playing a pair of top 25 teams including reigning National Champion Tampa where it lost in three sets. Each of the team's three victories have been sweeps.
Abigail Durham and Paige Campbell are posting 3.56 and 3.38 kills per set respectively. Durham has hit double digits in four of the first five with one double-double with Campbell tallying at least nine in every contest.
For select matches on the main floor, there will be video, with live stats available for others. Check the Pacer Invitational website for more information or follow along to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates
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