Sept. 23, 2007

Determination might be the word that best describes the Carson-Newman Eagle volleyball match vs .the Newberry Indians. In a five game match, after suffering back to back losses in game two and three, the Eagles earned their first South Atlantic Conference victory with scores of 30-21, 22-30, 23-30, 30-22, 15-8. The win puts Carson-Newman with a 14-2 overall record and 1-2 in the SAC while the Indians are 9-2 overall and 2-2 in SAC play.

The Eagle middles Nikki James and Katie Troyer accounted for 13 points based on blocks. "Our middles played well against the Newberry hitters. I was proud of how well they blocked for us. We seemed to keep the momentum in games 1 and 4 based on the blocking. They didn't necessarily block every ball down however they made the Newberry defense have to cover and play another." The hitters also battled each other throughout the match particularly Carly Mozgai (Carson-Newman Outside Hitter #21) and Priscila Sales (Newberry Outside Hitter #7) who attempted kills back and forth. Mozgai ended the night with 18 kills and Sales ended with 21 kills. "Carly provided alot of back row attacks which were effective for us." Mincey says.

Strong serves by Sophomore Katie Troyer in the 4th game propelled Carson-Newman to the win. Troyer went on a 5 point run in game 4 and again shook up the Newberry offense in game 5 with her serves. The Eagles switched sides in game 5 with a lead of 8-1. Troyer had 5 service aces for the match. "We really came out strong in the fifth game. Serves by Troyer, defense from Stephanie Cutter and strong leadership by Kelli Sorensen and Kelsey Fleck kept the momentum on our side. Kelli and Kelsey both provided key kills at the perfect time in game 4." adds Mincey. Stephanie Cutter made 3 one arm digs in game 5 to prove that determination does pay off.

The Lady Eagles' defense set the tone for their win, as they totaled 14 blocks and 95 digs. Setter Stephanie Cutter had a double-double with 37 assists and 23 digs. Nikki James had one solo block and seven block assists. Salem Stepp came off the bench to spark the Eagle defense in games 3, 4 and 5 and sophomore Bruna Rasuck added defensive assistance in the last 2 games. C-N's Haley Bush led all players with 27 digs.

"Our team can certainly take a lot from this match and focus on some details we need to improve on." Says Coach Mincey

Carson-Newman plays at Brevard Tuesday before returning home to try to gain their 2nd conference win against Lenoir-Rhyne College. The Lady Indians step out of conference play for a home match against Southern Wesleyan University on Wednesday before returning to SAC play with a two-match swing through Tennessee.