MARS HILL, N.C. - Emmagrace Cobb posted 10 kills without a mistake talling a .556 hitting percentage but Mars Hill snapped Carson-Newman's winning streak in three sets on Tuesday, 25-23, 25-22 and 25-22, at Stanford Arena in South Atlantic Conference action.
"We struggled to keep the ball in play tonight," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We won't beat anyone with 22 hitting errors and 9 serving errors. We will get back in the gym tomorrow and do better."
Riding a nine-match winning streak, the longest in the league, the Eagles saw their string end at the end despite their longest string in 15 years. Mars Hill (8-0, 4-0) beat Carson-Newman (10-2, 3-1) for a third consecutive meeting posting its first sweep in the series since 2018.
Cobb tallied her fourth double-digit kill effort of her career and the second in her last four times on the floor. The Greensboro, N.C. native has 35 kills and seven misfires during that stretch.
Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) paced all players with 15 kills but was forced into 11 attack errors. Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) gobbled up 20 digs and Carlee Allbaugh (Tallahassee, Fla.) added another double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs.
The Orange and Blue recorded three more kills than the Lions for the match but committed eight more errors. Mars Hill added 10 blocks compared to C-N's two.
In the opening game, there were 17 ties and seven lead changes, more than any set this year for the club with 15 and seven against Francis Marion in the third being the next closest. Neither side led by more than two points for the set before the home side broke a 20-20 tie by winning four of five with Sarah Goddard putting the finishing touches on the set.
Mars Hill surged in the second going on top 14-7 and holding a 22-13 advantage before the Eagles came to life. C-N used a 9-2 burst discarding three set points before Goddard once again closed the set.
The Eagles dug themselves a hole in the third falling behind 9-5 but the club battled to get within a pair six times down the stretch before time ran out and Nikkayla Stewart capped the match with a kiil.
Goddard led the Lions with a dozen kills and Jana Cuk chipped in 11 on a .320 mark with 3.5 blocks. Jordan Schmucker dished out 32 assists adding six digs and Laela Jimenez led the team with 16 digs.
After 12 straight matches away from home to start the year, the Eagles finally open the doors to Holt Fieldhouse on Friday for a 6 p.m. first serve against UVA Wise starting a four-match homestand.
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