JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman committed 26 attack errors and was limited to a .142 attack percentage losing at home for the first time in 2022 to Augusta, 28-26, 13-25, 23-25 and 14-25, in the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Crossover Friday evening at Holt Fieldhouse.
"I am proud of our effort against Lander," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We faltered on a lot of little things in that game that really got exploited against Augusta. We will come back and do better tomorrow but we have a lot of cleaning up to do."
Carson-Newman (20-4) was 16-0 this season when winning the first set before Augusta (19-5) made the comeback Friday. The Jaguars snapped a seven-match losing streak in the series beating the Eagles for the first time since Sept. 13, 2014.
Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led the Eagles with 15 kills adding a team-high 2.5 total blocks and 10 digs for her 14th double-double of the year. Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) added 10 smashes.
Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) logged 24 assists, nine digs and six kills while Ella Gamble (Cullowhee, N.C.) earned her first-career start and dished out 14 assists adding eight digs. Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) added a match-high 17 digs.
The Eagles started the match well winning 10 of the first 13 and despite the Jaguars pulling within two C-N held control at 23-17. Augusta responded to win six straight and shed two set points to get one of its own at 26-25 but the home side sealed the set winning two in a row capped by a block to go ahead 1-0.
In the second set, Augusta blew open a 5-5 tie by winning 11 of 13 to go ahead 16-7 never looking back to clinch the set on a kill by Jada Suguturaga. C-N mustered five kills in the set making eight attack errors as the Jaguars tallied six blocks in the game. The 13 points matched the fewest points scored in a set for the year with the first frame at Tusculum on Aug. 30.
After dropping the first four points of the third set, the Eagles found a rhythm closing the gap and winning four straight points to go ahead 12-11. The two sides traded seven ties before C-N jumped ahead 20-19 but Augusta won the next three and got to set point at 24-21. The Jaguars needed three tries to finish it off of on a kill from Alexis Diaz-Infante.
The tide was tight in the fourth until an 8-3 scoring run by the Jaguars turned a one-point lead into a six-point lead at 14-8. C-N never closed the gap closer than four setting the visitors win the final four points to complete the comeback.
Augusta posted 18 blocks as a team for the match, the most by a Carson-Newman opponent since Lenoir-Rhyne recorded 18 in the 2016 regular-season finale on Nov. 12. The margin was the fifth-most by a team in a four-set match in Division II for the year.
Jasmyn Wheeler led all players with 18 kills hitting .261 with 11 digs. Suguturaga did not make an attack miscue posting 13 kills with a .542 hitting margin and 4.5 total blocks.
Kayli Cleaver added 12 smashes and Diaz-Infante provided 10 kills and nine block assists. Samantha Zittrauer posted 26 assists and 10 digs and Abigail Breeden posted 22 scoops. Dariana Luna led the way with 16 digs and Kiera Barr chipped in 14.
The Eagles return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. against Georgia College to put a bow on the weekend. The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram @CN_eagles for updates throughout the match.
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