JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Hayden Barton joined Carson-Newman's 1,000-dig club aiding the Eagles to a sweep of Lander, 25-21, 25-17 and 25-20, to open up the South Atlantic Conference versus Peach Belt Conference Crossover Friday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
Barton tallied a team-high 11 digs pushing her tally to 1,002 career scoops in her 66th match posting better than four digs per set for her career, a mark that ranks eighth in the program's history.
Carson-Newman (20-3) secured its 20th win of the year for the 12th time in program history and fourth time in the last nine years. Four of the last five times the Eagles have beaten Lander (15-8) the contest ended in a sweep.
Julia Wheeler (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led all players with 13 kills posting a .250 hitting clip adding four digs. Four players registered at least seven smashes. Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) hit .438 with eight kills. Emmagrace Cobb (Greensboro, N.C.) and Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) each posted seven kills with Cherry posting 10 digs and Cobb adding 1.5 blocks.
Abbey Hildenbrand (Parker, Colo.) dished out 30 assists with five digs and four kills. All told, the Eagles finished with a .275 hitting margin.
1️⃣3️⃣ @juliawheerr kills
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 21, 2022
1️⃣1️⃣ @hbarton12 digs
3️⃣0️⃣ @abbeyh65 assists
1️⃣.5️⃣ @CobbEmmagrace blocks
2️⃣0️⃣-win season for @CarsonNewmanVB pic.twitter.com/3THL45rU6W
Carson-Newman opened the match winning seven of the first nine points only to see the Bearcats win four straight to pull within one. After the teams traded points, the visitors took a lead at 14-13 behind a 4-0 surge. After four ties, C-N broke a 18-18 tie with a 6-2 run clinching the set on a kill by Cherry.
It was a tight start to the second stanza with five ties through the first 12 rallies before C-N used a 14-5 scoring outburst to flip a six-all tie into a 20-11 lead. Cobb blasted a ball off of the hardwood to seal the second.
Once again in the third set it was tight to start out with six ties through an 8-8 tie. The Eagles scored four straight to take a lead. Lander pierced the margin to one at 14-13 but a 3-0 Eagle run proved to be the difference before Wheeler finished off the match with a kill.
Christina Aguayo paced the visiting team with 11 kills and Katie Miller finished with six. Madilyn Reed racked up 25 assists, 12 digs and three kills. The Bearcats hit .202 on the day with seven blocks.
The Eagles return to action Friday evening at 6 p.m. against Augusta. The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram @CN_eagles for updates throughout the match.
- CN -
