NEWBERRY - The Newberry Wolves volleyball team battled hard against a strong Carson-Newman team at home Saturday afternoon, taking the second set, but fell to the Eagles 3-1 to drop to 3-6 (1-4 SAC) on the season.

The match once again came down to the pivotal third set. Tied at 1-1 overall, the Wolves were able to take the 4-3 lead and it looked like they were in position to seize the momentum. However, Carson-Newman was able to refocus in a huge way, as they went on an 11-0 run that forced Newberry to call both of their timeouts for the set. Trailing 14-4, the Wolves battled valiantly down the stretch, but they were unable to get any closer than seven points the rest of the way and the Eagles cruised to a 25-15 set victory, taking not only the momentum but also a 2-1 lead.

The match started out well for Newberry as it seemed they had recaptured the magic of the day before. The Wolves got off to a quick 8-5 lead, forcing Carson-Newman to call a quick timeout. The Eagles bounced back with a 8-2 run to take the lead at 13-10 and Newberry took their first timeout. Carson-Newman then extended their lead to 18-11 before eventually closing out the set 25-14 and taking a 1-0 lead.

Newberry would battle back in the second set, going on a 4-0 run midway through the set to take an 11-7 lead and forcing the Eagles to burn a timeout. Although Carson-Newman hardly made it easy on the Wolves and kept the score close for a few more points, Newberry never came close to relinquishing the lead. The set was punctuated by a Toni-Anne Whitlow kill and the Wolves took the set 25-18, tying the match up at one.

After the huge third set run by the Eagles, Newberry was never able to recover. Carson-Newman won five of the first six points to take the early lead; then the Wolves stayed close for a while but were unable to get any closer than five points throughout. The Eagles continued to dominate play, taking the set 25-15 as Newberry ended the match with two straight attack errors.

Match standouts for the Wolves included Zoe Dinkins, who posted a team-leading 10 kills and three blocks, along with two service aces. Angela Gore and Morgan Walter were excellent from the service line as they posted three and two, respectively. Gore's three aces were all in a row during the first set. Walter was also excellent defensively with a team-leading 17 digs, the only player to get into double figures on the day.

Setter Taylor Garrison had another standout match with 28 assists, giving her 75 total in her last two matches. She also added in four digs and a block.

The Wolves will look to bounce back next week as they go on the road to face Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne