LEXINGTON, Ky. – Three pairs of Carson-Newman beach volleyball players have earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top Flight award, the AVCA announced Wednesday. 

The Top Flight program, now in its fifth year, recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches.

Carson-Newman had Abbey Hildenbrand and Ava Fountain recognized at Flight 2. McKenna Hall and Julia Wheeler garnered the accolade at Flight 4, while Piper Halcrow and Jenny Ille tallied the honor at Flight 5. 

Fountain and Hildenbrand went 23-4 on the year to finish with the second-most wins in a single-season in school history.  The pair rattled off 22 straight wins to start the year before tasting defeat on March 31. All 22 of those wins to start the year came in straight sets.  The pair's .852 win percentage for the year is the highest in program history. 

Hall and Wheeler tallied a 26-7 record on the year, setting the single-season program record for wins by a duo.  Much like Hildebrand and Fountain, the pair started the year with 22 straight wins before falling on March 31.  Of those 22 straight wins, 18 came via straight sets.

Finally, Halcrow and Ille narrowly qualified for the honor with exactly 15 matches on the year.  The duo was 12-3.  Halcrow finished the year with 22 wins on the year after pairing with Ashlyn Phair the back half of the year.  The 22 wins are the third-most for a single season in school history.