JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Limestone Saints (4-2, 3-1), picked to finish ninth in the SAC, completed a sweep over Carson-Newman (5-7, 3-1), who was picked to finish second in the conference pre-season poll.
In three sets, Limestone ended Carson-Newman's undefeated ride over SAC competition and pulled ahead in conference standings.
Carson-Newman has not lost to the Saints since 2010 and ended a five game winning streak dating back to 2021 when Limestone joined the South Atlantic Conference.
On paper, the home team and vistors had an even game on digs and kills. However, Limestone outblocked Carson-Newman 9-2, out-aced 9-5, and utilized a high error game from the Eagles to capture the victory.
"I'm very disappointed in the lack of discipline tonight." says coach Tiernan. "We will use it as a learning opportunity and do better tomorrow."
C-N trailed in all three sets, only holding the lead four times during the extent of play. 14 Eagles saw court time, in an attempt to find a rotation that could gain some traction, though were only ably to find two significant scoring runs of more than two points, both in set two.
Set 1 (18-25)
The opening set started strong for Carson-Newman with four Eagles kills early on. Down at 10-14, C-N closed the gap by two and followed closely before a five-point run gave the Saints the momentum and surplus to take set 1 by a seven point margin. Limestone scored only two more kills than Carson-Newman though found the extra points through blocks and recieving errors.
Set 2 (24-26)
Trailing early on, the Eagles crawled out of a four point hole to close Limestone's gap to 12-13. The Saints responded with a four point run of their own to lengthen their lead once again. They kept Carson-Newman a minimum of one point behind before the Eagles managed to close in and tie score for the first time at 20-20, followed by a one point lead on Limestone. A timeout is called by coach Skweres and Mia Mcullenn came back with two kills in a row to tie and take back the lead. C-N took it back one last time and a kill from Blair Cherry put Carson-Newman in the position for a possible match point. Limestone forced the Eagles into overtime and took set two 26-24.
Set 3 (23-25)
Limestone opened play with a three point run that C-N couldn't tie up with until 17-17. Assisted by Blair Cherry, a kill from Taylor Adams gave Carson-Newman their first lead of the set but was not entertained for long. Limestone took back the margin at 20-19 and outscored C-N 4-5 in the final moments to secure set three 25-23.
Carson-Newman stays on the road for a match against UVA-Wise on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6:00 PM. To follow along fans can watch at cneagles.com/flovb.
