Good morning Eagles! Our past week has been a balance of keeping tradition and making history.  From our freshman up to our seniors, we have all enjoyed learning about our team's history through experiences like the alumni match and through staff members on campus who have watched our program grow. We are proud to be a part of such a rich history and wear the title of a Carson-Newman volleyball player proudly. But on Tuesday our freshmen and transfer might not have been so fond of a little friendly tradition that transpires every first home match.

For as long as any one of our players can prove, we have played Tusculum at home for our conference opener. It always falls on a Tuesday, bright and shining in the beginning of our week. So in order to draw some attention to the game, we ask our newcomers (i.e.; freshman and transfers) to dress up in a crazy manner. This can include hula skirts, crocs, rainbow socks, tutus, pigtails, bows, ribbons, bathing suits, etc. and this year's favorite: onesies. We don't ask, but we recommend incorporating a sign to the outfits that says the information about our game that night, that way they don't have to repeat the same spiel over and over. And every year we go to chapel to see how creative the outfits got and to be seen in a large crowd, just to draw some more fans of course. This year we were dying to see what they came up with because we have some pretty spirited freshman and Jenna cracks us up every day with her spontaneity. Tuesday morning we were absolutely thrilled to see each of our freshmen flaunting their own unique onesie for the day. We had both Batman and Superman walking around campus advertising for the game. Even Mickey Mouse showed up! At our pregame meal we all fill each other in on embarrassing stories throughout the day and the crazy conversation starters that filled the mornings.

And Tuesday night we saw the results of the rocked onesies. Our stands were absolutely packed with crazy fans who were on their feet cheering us on from the announcement of our starting lineup to game point in set three. Did you catch that? Set three! We swept Tusculum in three games with the help of our fans at home giving us an extra push on our jump floats from home, and our Mossy Creek Maniacs picking us up when we dove into the bleachers. It was the first time we had swept Tusculum in seven years. And tell me, what beats the feeling of beating your school's rivals? One thing that comes close is the chills you get as your home stands rise to their feet for match point and the explosion that follows as you seal the deal. Thank you all students, friends and family who showed out of Tuesday. You gave us that extra boost we needed to kick TC back to where they came from.

Wednesday we got to help repay the favor by supporting our men's and women's soccer teams in their first home matches as well. They got sky divers to do a little half time show in between the transition and it was so cool! We talked to coach, and we might not be at sky diving level yet, but best believe we want something flying around our gym for next season's opener! The ceiling could pose as an issue but those are minor details.

Friday we packed our bags and hit the road for Queens in North Carolina. Each gym we visit during season has its own niche. At Queens, it's the jumbotron they have mounted on the wall that also poses for an American flag and highlight reel as they read off the names of their players. We were told to keep our gazes forward and to pay no mind to that thing. To be honest, it helped us focus in on our opponent and concentrate on the task in front of us. And next thing you know, it was set three and we came out on top! With the help of Sara Fairley's cheering section who took up half the bleachers, and our happy juice (Gatorade) we dethroned the Royals and were on our merry way to Catawba.

No matter who is on the other side of the net, we all feel the same walking into a gym together. Coach is always challenging us in practice and now in games to ask ourselves "are we good enough today?" And as we look at our opponents, we don't know what kind of energy they are going to bring to the match, but we know one thing. We know that if we play like we have been practicing all season, we will be good enough that match. Knowing we have the power to stand to all the teams in our conference is a feeling you can't buy at Walgreens. Each match we might start off shaky as we get a feel for the other team, but once we hone in on our side of the net and each contact, we elevate our level of play by each point and return to the unit we have worked so hard to shape. Catawba was the tip of the hat that week as we swept another team. Later we found out that it was the first time the Eagles had started a season 9-0 in sets! And we rose to second in our conference. In response to the weekend, our coaches treated us to gelato. All I'm saying is we should keep sweeping our way through conference if it gets us gelato.

Nobody knows what this week will hold, but as a team we can look our opponents in the eye and say with confidence that we are going to do everything within our fighting power to defeat them and we won't let our minds, opposing fans, or any other outside factor get in the way of our goals.

As always I am thanking our friends and families for showing us and tremendous amount of support this week, in the stands and at home. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we grow as players and individuals. And an extra thank you to our freshman Kyrie, Rachel, Anna, and Morgan, and Jena for being champs on Tuesday. Thanks for keeping the tradition and making it took so good. Cheers to a good week!

Thanks for reading,

Kristina (Tina) Hill

God Bless!

Throughout the 2014 volleyball season, junior libero Kristina Hill (Lake Orion, Mich.) will write about her experiences at Carson-Newman. A new installment will be released each Monday afternoon.

- CN -