AVCA Small College Championships Seeding and Schedule
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Eagles learned their matchups and pod for the AVCA Small College Beach Championships schedule on Sunday, Apr. 11.
Carson-Newman earned the seven seed in the AVCA Small College Championships after completing the regular season with a 6-4 record.
Carson-Newman's pod will consist of the number one seed Tampa, the number six seed Colorado Mesa and the #12 seed Catawba. The Eagles will play Tampa and Colorado Mesa on Friday, Apr. 16 at 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM, before facing Catawba at 10:00 AM on Saturday, Apr. 17.
Following pool play, teams will be assigned to challenge round play on Saturday based on the results from the Friday and Saturday pool play matches. The challenge round will consist of the top two teams from each of the three pools competing against each other. These six teams will compete in the Gold bracket on Sunday. The bottom two teams from each of the three pools will compete in the Silver bracket on Sunday. All teams will have one pool play match and one challenge round match on Saturday. Gold and Silver bracket play begins on Sunday morning. The Division II Champion will be the winner of the Gold bracket
"I am looking forward to seeing our team compete at a high level this weekend," says head coach Cat Lind. "We have some tough matches and strong competition coming but I am confident in the team and the work that they have put in to prepare us for this weekend."
Carson-Newman earned the seven seed after finishing the regular season 6-4, including finishing the year 4-0 at home and earning the squad's first ever win over Tusculum and a win over Division-I Chattanooga.
The Eagles are just 1-6 all-time at the AVCA Small College Championships. The team's only trip was in 2019. Carson-Newman earned a 3-2 win over Principia before falling to rival Tusculum 4-1 to close out the weekend at second place in the Division II bronze pod.
Current Eagle senior Lauren Williams was part of a pair that included Lexy Headley that earned two wins in the final round.
The Eagles are 0-1 all time against Tampa. The Spartans and Eagles last met at the 2019 AVCA Small College Championships where Tampa won 5-0. Current Eagle senior Joy Rhodes made her first appearance as a member of the beach volleyball team in the match, falling 21-9 and 21-8.
After starting the season 1-5, Tampa finished the regular season 13-11, including at one point winning seven straight. The Spartans also tallied two wins over #20 Florida Gulf Coast, winning 3-2 and 4-1.
Carson-Newman has never faced Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks are the first team west of the Mississippi River that the Eagles will face since the squad dropped a contest to Texas A&M-Kingsville 4-1 on Mar. 9, 2019 in Charleston, S.C. The Mavs are the most westernly team the Eagles have faced since dropping a contest to Arizona State on March 21, 2015 in Columbia, S.C.
The Mavericks finished the regular season 3-10 with a pair of victories over Division-I Utah, knocking off the Utes 3-2 and 5-0 earlier in the year.
Catawba and Carson-Newman have never met. The Indians are in just their second season ever of competition. The squad from Salisbury dropped two matches to Coastal Carolina in their first season in 2020. The Indians waited until the end of the indoor season to have their full roster and will play their first match of the season on Apr. 14 against Spartanburg Methodist College.
Fans can catch all the action from Hickory Point Beach and the AVCA Small College Beach Championships live streamed on BallerTV. A special event pass priced at $50 is available to watch all matches from the championships. Links to the broadcast are available at cneagles.com.
