ROCK HILL, S.C. – In a series that dates back to 1990, Carson-Newman and Tusculum face off in the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Semifinals Friday at the Rock Hill Sports & Events Center for a spot in the title match starting at 4 p.m.
Carson-Newman (26-4) is looking to reach the SAC Tournament final for the seventh time in school history and the third time in the last six years. In an oddity, each of the team's last four trips to the championship round have come in odd years with the last time it went to a title match in an even campaign coming in 2002.
The Eagles have won seven straight matches on a neutral floor holding a 6-0 mark this season and a 14-5 record under Coach Ashley Tiernan who is 8-3 in the postseason in her four years.
Despite a long history overall that sees Tusculum (14-11) hold a 35-32 edge, the teams have only meeting thrice in the SAC Tournament four times overall in the postseason. The Eagles are 4-0 in those matches with one NCAA Tournament victory and the other three coming in the opening round of the SAC Tournament.
Tiernan's team has won four of the last six meetings overall including a comeback five-set win and a four-set victory this year. The Eagles showed a big improvement defensively between the two affairs holding the Pioneers to a .091 hitting margin after yielding a .231 mark in the first matchup. C-N held the 2021 SAC Player of the Year, Emiah Burrowes, to nine kills and eight errors in October after she had 23 in the August affair.
After a slow start to the season that featured five straight losses to being the year and the club sitting at 9-11 in mid-October, Tusculum has won five in a row, three sweeps and two in four sets, upending second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne on the road in the opening round to reach the semifinals.
Like the Orange and Blue, the Pioneers can tout four all-conference picks adding in Mariana Foster as an All-Freshman team selection. Burrowes is third in the league in kills per set with 3.34 and Carly Sosnowski is third in digs per set with 5.05. Both players are first-team picks joining Wingate as the only other team with multiple first-teamers.
As a team, the unit ranks anywhere from fifth to ninth in the league in statistical areas with the unit ranking fourth in blocks per set posting 1.89. The Pioneers recorded a combined 20 in the first two clashes with the Eagles.
Fans can use their FloSports subscription or sign up for one to watch the every contest all season long. Follow along to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.
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