JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - In a packed Pioneer Arena, Carson-Newman (8-10, 6-4 SAC) was swept by Tusculum (12-5, 8-2 SAC) for the first time since 2013 on Tuesday night.
The rivalry between the Eagles and the Pioneers dates back decades, with Tusculum leading 36-34 overall. Since Ashley Tiernan took over as Carson-Newman's head coach in 2019, the Eagle volleyball program leads Tusculum 6-3. Before the loss at Pioneer Arena, the Eagles had not dropped a match to the Pioneers since 2021.
"Tonight was a frustrating loss. We struggled with the serve and pass game which put us in a situation to not get in rhythm." said head coach Ashley Tiernan.
Just a month ago in Holt Fieldhouse, Carson-Newman took down Tusculum 3-1. The Eagles led the Pioneers in kills (58-41), hitting percentage (.220- .110), assists (56-36), service aces (10-1), and digs (76-65).
In their Tuesday night matchup in Greenville, Tn., the opposite was observed. Tusculum led C-N in kills (42-30), hitting percentage (.237- .115), assists (40-28), service aces (11-8), digs (59-55) and total blocks (8.0-1.0)
Emiah Burrowes led the match with 11 kills while Aly Freeland collected ten of her own. Olivia Crowl notably recorded a .545 hitting percentage, chipping away at seven kills on 11 attempts and a singular error. Taylor Adams led the Eagles in kills with nine. Blair Cherry was the only athlete on either side of the court to earn a double-double with 24 assists and 12 digs. Trinity Hafey and Tusculum's Caley Sosnowski both gathered 16 digs to tie for match leader.
Carson-Newman has struggled on the road in 2023, standing 2-5 in away matches and 2-4 in neutral sites.
Set 1 (23-25)
Carson-Newman's 21-16 grasp on the set slipped away as Tusculum earned six straight to grab the lead. The scoring run was highlighted by three kills from outside hitter Aly Freeland and two service aces from Jordyn Anderson. The Eagles earned more kills than their adversary (15-13) but also collected five more attacking errors than the Pioneers (8-3) in set one.
Set 2 (20-25)
After the sixth and final tie at 14-14, the Pioneers plunged ahead to hold the largest lead of the set at 19-14. Carson-Newman responded and closed in on the deficit to a single point (18-19). A fired up Tusculum took charge again and concluded set two with a five point surplus over the Eagles.
Set 3 (20-25)
The Eagles' trailed in set two, though Tusculum did not distance themselves by more than three points until they led 22-18. The remainder of the set was plagued by hitting errors, three from C-N and two from the Pioneers. Taylor Keeran recorded a fiery .429 hitting efficiency with four kills on seven attempts. Her percentage was outshined only by Tusculum's Martina Foster who recorded two kills off three swings for a .667 set.
The Carson-Newman Eagles set off to Aiken, S.C on Saturday for a double header against Georgia College and USC Aiken at 1 and 4 p.m.
