JEFFERSON CITY, TENN. - Junior Stephanie Lambert (Florence, Ky.) and freshman Callie Chappell (Rosman, N.C.) powered the Brevard College Tornados (7-21, 6-15 SAC) to a 3-1 win over the Carson-Newman Eagles (3-26, 2-19 SAC), Friday night in Jefferson City, Tenn.
With the win the Tornados avenged a 3-2 loss to the Eagles at home on Oct. 7, as the win also kept Brevard's post-season bid alive with tomorrow's season ending showdown with Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tenn. With a win tomorrow and a little South Atlantic Conference weekend luck, the Tornados have the opportunity to slide into the No. 8 spot in the conference standings.
Lambert's 14 kills, which tied with Carson-Newman's Marnie Streeter for a game-high, along with Chappell's 13 kills where vital in the Tornados triumph over the Eagles. Brevard finished the match hitting .260 as a team, including a .371 percentage in a crucial set four.
In addition to Lambert's and Chappell's impressive showings, juniors Rachel Ruble (Advance, N.C.) and Hannah Elmore (Salisbury, N.C.) each added nine and eight kills, respectively. While senior Savannah Cox (Kannapolis, N.C.) fresh off her career record-breaking performance against Coker last Saturday, finished the night with six kills and two block assists.
Junior setter Erin Barr (Hamptonville, N.C.) finished with a game-high 45 assists and 10 digs, while senior libero Aleksandra Vrvilo (Beaverton, Ore.) collected a team-high 26 digs, also adding a team-high four service aces. Junior Maggie Weiss (Clemmons, N.C.) also recorded double-digit scoops for Brevard in the victory, collecting 14 digs.
Brevard would open the evening with an impressive 25-19 opening set victory, backed by a .268 hitting percentage and five kills by Lambert. The Tornados would jump out early in the opening frame, opening up a 9-5 advantage and leading by as many as eight points in the set.
Carson-Newman would even the match 1-1 following the second set as the Eagles pulled out a 25-17 win, aided by a .242 hitting percentage, while limiting the Tornados to .176 from the floor.
The Tornados, however, would get back on track in set three, hitting .225 as Chappell managed to find her swing form the outside and power down a set-high five kills. Lambert would finish the third frame with four more kills as Brevard pulled out the 25-22 set point.
The final point of the evening would be all Tornados as Brevard used six kills from Chappell and three kills from Barr to pull off an impressive 25-19 game-winning point. The Tornados hit .371 in the final frame of the evening, controlling a 6-3 lead to open the point. Carson-Newman battled back to within one of the Tornados at 17-16, but Brevard would close out the match on an 8-2 run to take the 3-1 decision.
The Tornados will return back to action tomorrow afternoon as they close out the 2016 regular-season with a meeting with Lincoln Memorial at 1 p.m. in Harrogate, Tenn.
