Mars Hill sweeps Carson-Newman to even season series

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Mars Hill volleyball team downed Carson-Newman on the road in three sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-13) Tuesday evening. The Lions ended Carson-Newman's six-game winning streak.

Elizabeth Kaeser led the Lions with 10 kills and two aces.

The Lions (8-15, 6-10 SAC) rolled through the Eagles in dominant fashion to avenge an early season loss. Carson-Newman won at Stanford Arena on September 9 in four sets.

Midway through the first set, the Lions trailed 19-12 before going on a three point run to pull within four points. Still trailing 19-15, Mars Hill roared back to win 10 of the next 14 points to claim the first set, 25-23. Rebecca Butler and Lauren Hochstetler each had five kills in the opening frame.

The second set saw another tight battle down to the final few points. Leading 23-22, two back-to-back kills by Maddie Spurgeon clinched the set and put the Lions up 2-0 heading into the third. Spurgeon finished the game with nine kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

Mars Hill hit an outstanding .371 to take the third set in convincing fashion, 25-13. The Lions had a combined 15 kills on 35 attempts with two errors. The Eagles hit .028 with eight kills on 36 swings with seven errors.

Carson-Newman entered the match on a six-game winning streak. The Eagles drop to 14-10 (9-8 SAC).

MarnieStreeter, who was recently named the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, had a game-high 12 kills in the losing effort. Anna Patton led all players with 30 assists. Morgan Ballard dug a game-high 28 balls.

Sally Anne Johnson had eight kills on 15 attempts, hitting .400 for the contest and added a game-high four blocks. The setting duo of Sarah Pasour and Abby King combined for 44 assists.

The Lions travel to Hartsville, South Carolina on Friday, November 3 to take on Coker. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.