SAVANNAH, Ga. –
Despite a 30-dig effort from freshman libero Phoebe
Corder, the Rollins Tars dropped a 3-2 (25-14, 19-15, 22-25,
25-18, 13-15) decision to Carson-Newman in the first match of the
Chatham Orthopedics Volleyball Classic at Alumni Arena.
The Tars (6-3) opened the match with a 25-14 victory in the first
set. Rollins never trailed in the first frame and jumped out to a
19-7 lead. A Nikki Hartman kill put the Tars at set-point
before a service error by the Eagles (6-3) sealed the win.
Defensively in the first frame, Rollins held Carson-Newman to a
.000 attacking percentage, while the Tars hit .333.
Carson-Newman stormed back in the second set to claim the 25-19
victory. Tied at six, the Eagles scored five out the next six
points to create an 11-7 lead. The Tars would eventually cut into
Carson-Newman's deficit, but would not get any closer than two
points the rest of the set.
The Eagles escaped with a 25-22 win in the third stanza. The teams
played even volleyball before the Tars took a four-point lead after
a kill from sophomore Caitlin Vyborny put Rolins ahead, 13-9.
The Eagles fought back with back-to-back service aces to cut the
deficit to one. After another Vyborny kill, the teams traded
points until the Tars extended its narrow lead to four again at
17-13. Another effort by Carson-Newman evened the match at 21,
before the Eagles scored four of the final five points to close out
the set.
Senior Stephanie Nichols and Hartman refused to let the
match slip away in the fourth frame as they both recorded four
kills, while Corder added six digs en route to the 25-18 win.
Trailing 4-1, the Tars went on a 5-0 run to eclipse the lead, 6-4.
The Tars would never look back in the set scoring the final four
points.
The fifth set was similar to the rest of the match as there were
six ties and four lead changes. Tied at 10, the Tars would take an
11-10 and a 12-11 lead after an attacking error by the Eagles and
Hartman kill, respectively. Carson-Newman edged the Herd scoring
four out of the next five points to seal the match.
Overall, the Tars out-hit the Eagles .236 to .169, while Hartman
(16), Nichols (15) and Vyborny (12) all hit in double-figures in
kills.
Defensively, Corder registered her 30 kills to increase her
conference lead, while junior Natalie
Branche and sophomore Jenny
Sherwood added two solo blocks.
Senior Lacey Malarky set a match-high of 38 assists,
while sophomore Erin Wareham added 18.
The Tars return to action against, host Armstrong Atlantic State
University at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcasted via live stream
at www.RollinsSports.com.
