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JACKSON, Tenn. – Carson-Newman embarks on a six-match road swing playing 15 of its next 19 affairs away from Holt Fieldhouse starting with the Union Tournament playing four matches on Friday and Saturday. Day one sees the Eagles take on Christian Brothers and Arkansas Tech on Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. respectively. The weekend concludes on Saturday against Southern Arkansas and Union at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
"We had practice on Wednesday so we aren't going to lay off," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We only practice Monday and Wednesday of this week because we have to travel on Thursday. We are going to take care of our bodies the best we can and get after it in practice. There are no scouting reports for this weekend. We just want to play volleyball. We want to grow as a team and play volleyball this weekend."
This weekend is the second of three, four-match crossover tournaments after the program opened the year at USC Aiken dropping three of the four outings. Making the 335-mile trip west, this is the furthest west the team has journeyed since starting the 2014 campaign in San Francisco. In Dan Ahiers's first season, the team went 3-1 on the west coast and won 27 matches and 20 of the 22 conference tilts.
Carson-Newman (3-4) is looking to find its footing away from Mossy Creek where the team is 7-2 over the last two years. In the same span, the group is 3-6 when playing in gyms other than Holt Fieldhouse after going 10-2 in Tiernan's first year.
First up is Christian Brothers, a unit that the Eagles have played twice with each team picking up a win. The most recent affair came on Sept. 2, 2006 in Jefferson City when the Eagles picked up a four-set win. During the 30-point era, Kelli Sorensen paced the winning side with 15 kills on a .344 hitting percentage. Kari Gibson flirted with a triple-double posting 43 assists, 12 kills and six digs.
In 2021, the Bucs dropped each of their first seven matches but have won their last two beating Erskine in five frames and sweeping Fisk on Saturday where they hit .255 and .280. Of the seven setbacks, four were sweeps and one, at Trevecca Nazarene, required five.
Maddie McGaha leads the club with 2.61 kills per set hitting .127. The sophomore has found her form with three double-digit efforts in the last four matches after zero in the opening five affairs of the year twice throttling 14 balls to the hardwood.
The Eagles have never faced Arkansas Tech, a club out of the Great American Conference that is coached by Kera Dukic, a former all-region selection for the Golden Suns. She has produced a winning season in each of her first three years at the helm.
Playing a tough schedule, the club has played two top 25 teams on the year losing to No. 24 Wayne State, the unit that beat the Eagles in the 2015 National Quarterfinals, and 22nd-ranked Colorado Mesa. In the GAC opener, the Golden Suns took down Arkansas-Monticello in a dramatic five-set match winning the fifth 17-15.
Tymber Riley and Emily Ragsdale are averaging 2.5 kills per set to lead the team on the year. Ragsdale has been efficient to the tune of a .373 attack percentage. The senior from Las Vegas has four double-digit efforts and leads the team with 1.08 blocks per set.
Carson-Newman and Southern Arkansas have played one time with the Muleriders pulling out a sweep on Sept. 12, 2003 in Montevallo, Ala. Coming off of a SAC regular-season and tournament title, the Eagles won 25 matches in 2003.
Southern Arkansas is seeking its first winning season since 2015 when it won 20 matches and lost to Southwestern Oklahoma State in the conference title match. The team has won a total of 31 matches in the last six years failing to hit double figures in each campaign.
Landry Rogers is leading the attack with 2.68 kills per set but has failed to crest 10 kills in her last three matches after registering that number or better in each of the first three and four of the first five contests.
Finally, the Eagles will get their chance at the host school, Union, to wrap up the weekend in the first tussle between the two programs in volleyball. It is the alma mater of Carson-Newman President, Dr. Charles A. Fowler.
The Bulldogs came out of the gates swinging winning each of their first six outings of the year but have lost the last two games, a five-set loss to Arkansas-Monticello and a sweep at the hands of Trevecca Nazarene. It is a program on the rise with a record of 33-16 in the last three years.
Union's attack has been efficient all year with a team margin of .245 clubbing the ball at better than .241 in each of the first six games but was held below .200 in each of the last two. Emily Grace Calhoon leads the crew with a .359 margin and 2.32 kills per set.
Live stats and video are available for the weekend with the latest updates on the program constantly refreshing on @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram.
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