WINGATE, N.C.- The sixth-seeded Anderson University volleyball team was unable to pull off an upset of No. 3 seed Carson-Newman, as the Eagles swept AU, 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-20) in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament, Thursday afternoon at Cuddy Arena.
Anderson's season comes to a close with an overall record 22-8 while Carson-Newman improves to 26-7. The Eagles advance to the semifinal round to face the winner of No. 2 Queens/No. 7 Flagler matchup.
"I'm very proud of the heart we showed today after falling behind," said head coach Todd Hay. "Unfortunately, our overall inconsistency coupled with the strong hitting of Carson-Newman was too much to overcome. Congratulations to the Eagles for a well-played match."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior Regan Duty recorded a match-high 13 kills while adding a pair of block assists. Senior Hailee Wilhelm was credited with eight kills and three block assists while senior setter Emily Conlin notched her 20th double-double of the season with 29 assists and a match-high 18 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Duty led the Trojans' offensively in the opening frame by knocking down four kills, with freshman Maya Learmonth posting three kills.
The Trojans scored the first point of the frame with Conlin's 39th ace of the season. However, the Trojans fell behind 16-10, before halting the Eagles run with a kill by Duty. AU eventually pulled even at 23 when Wilhelm and Weber combined on a block. After exchanging points, Duty's fourth kill of the set evened the score at 24 apiece. The Eagles finished off the set on back-to-back kills by Marnie Streeter.
Second Set
The Eagles jumped out to an early 14-4 lead with Anderson coming out of the called timeout scoring four straight points. The Eagles ended the Trojans surge with a kill by Kendall Cooley.
The Trojans were unable to make any headway remaining five to six points behind before creeping within four points, 24-20.
Anderson staved off several set-points to pull the match to, 24-22, with Carson-Newman finally putting the set away with a kill by Katie Parnell.
Third Set
The Eagles continued to use the momentum from the first two sets to build a 15-5 lead. AU's Wilhelm notched five kills to close the gap to 17-11 before the Eagles pushed the score to 20-14.
Duty recorded her 13th kill of the match to slow down the Eagles run, 22-17. Following two solid serves by freshman Alexandra Petrilli the Trojans pulled within three, 22-19.
The Eagles would outscore the Black and Gold, 3-1 over the final span to close out the set, 25-20.
"It's bittersweet to say goodbye to our seniors because of how hard they have played and how much they mean to our program," emphasized Hay. "Kat, Connie and Hailee have been excellent leaders and true to our Trojan family all the way. We will miss them in the gym but we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for their future."
