JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - After recording an 11-7 conference record this season, Carson-Newman (14-16, 11-7 SAC) earned the fifth seed spot to advance to the SAC Volleyball Championship tournament, set to begin on Monday, Nov. 13.
The Eagles will take on No. 4 seed Lenoir-Rhyne (20-9, 14-4 SAC) on Monday night at 7 pm at the home of the Bears, the Shuford Memorial Coliseum. If they advance past round one, play will move to the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center in Rock Hill, S.C. for the semifinals and finals on November 15 and 16.
The Wingate Bulldogs (25-2, 17-1 SAC) claimed the no. 1 seed for the tournament and were named the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Regular Season Champions, concluding their season with 16 straight wins and a 17-1 conference record.
Anderson (24-4, 16-2 SAC) earned the No. 2 spot for the tournament. Tusculum (19-6, 15-3 SAC) finished in the No. 3 seed, while Lenoir-Rhyne (20-9, 14-4 SAC) took home the No. 4 spot. Catawba (12-10, 10-8 SAC) followed Carson-Newman in the No. 6 spot. Limestone (10-11, 7-10 SAC) earned the No. 7 spot, followed by Mars Hill (14-11, 8-10 SAC) in the No. 8 seed.
Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne have faced off one time this season in late October. The Bears took the match 3-0 at the Shuford Memorial Coliseum. They led in kills (39-35), hitting percentage (.221- .074), service aces (5-1), and team blocks (9.0-5.0). The Eagles led defensively with 57 digs over Lenoir-Rhyne with 55.
Julia Wheeler led the match with 16 kills, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne's Emaleigh Allen with 14. They were the only two attackers who concluded the match with double-digit efforts. Mckenna Hall nearly matched her career record of 26 digs. She led the Eagles and the Bears with 25.
Monday night will mark the 72nd meeting between the Carson-Newman Eagles and the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears. C-N leads 42-29 overall and 17-15 at the Shuford Arena. The Eagles have won eight of the last 11 matches, and are 4-3 since Ashley Tiernan took over as head coach.
Head coach Nicole Barringer has produced a well rounded unit that leads the conference in team assists (1,257), team digs (1,948), team kills (1,353), and total team attacks (4,116).
If the Eagles advance past round one, they will take on the winner between #1 Wingate and #8 Mars Hill on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center in Rock Hill, S.C., for the tournament semifinals, set for a 4:30 first serve. Full details of the tournament can be found at thesac.com.
First serve on Monday night is set for 7 pm. To follow along fans can watch on Flo Sports with a subscription or head to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.
