JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman, the reigning NCAA Southeast Region Champions, completed its recruiting class Friday afternoon announced by coach Ashley Tiernan bringing in seven players, five freshman and two junior college transfers.
From last season's South Atlantic Conference and region championship roster, the Eagles six seniors including three starters. Morgan Ballard, a three-time all-region selection, and Marnie Streeter, a three-time All-SAC selection, are the key pieces that graduated.
Tiernan returns the SAC Tournament MVP, Erin Edwards, a two-time All-SAC pick, Megan Oldenburger, and two of the top 10 blockers in the country from one of the best rejection units in the nation, Katie Parnell and Kaina Roehrkasse.
This year's class features three outside hitters, two liberos, one middle blocker and one setter to join a roster that returns six key athletes from 2019.
Emmagrace Cobb – Outside Hitter – 6-2 – High Point, N.C.
Cobb, a freshman from Cornerstone Charter Academy, produced a monster senior season with 395 kills hitting .555 with 76 service aces, 107 total blocks and 89 digs finishing her career with 754 smashes, 187 aces, 183 blocks and 162 digs in her varsity career. A four-time captain, the Tar Heel State native was the Player of the Year as a junior and a senior getting four all-conference nods. She helped the club to a state championship in 2017 as a sophomore. Cobb was a member of the National Honor Society and Beta Club while also swimming. Her mother and her father played basketball at Lenoir-Rhyne.
Pilar Daugherty – Setter – 5-9 – Las Cruces, N.M.
Daugherty transfers to Mossy Creek from Yavapai College leading the club to a 20-6 overall record and five wins over top 20 teams including a four-set triumph over No. 1 College of Southern Idaho on Aug. 24 where she handed out 40 assists adding nine digs and three kills. She averaged 8.79 assists per set with 1,626 total helpers adding 3.26 digs per set and 99 total blocks. She finished the 2019 season with a dozen double-doubles eclipsing 30 assists 11 times. Daugherty posted seven double-doubles during her first season with the Rough Riders tallying 19 efforts with at least 30 assists.
Among her honors at Yavapai, she was a two-time NJCAA First-Team All-Academic selection, all-conference and all-tournament pick winning a region title in 2019.
In high school, Daugherty averaged a triple-double in assists, kills and digs earning all-district distinction. The Las Cruces, N.M. native was a star in track and field winning three championships in the shot put. She was also a member of the National Honor Society.
Her brother, Zach, played football at New Mexico in the early 2010s.
Ella Gay – Middle Blocker – 6-1 – Johnson City, Tenn.
Gay, a freshman from Science Hill High School, led the program in blocks three times posting 574 career kills and 271 total blocks. She led the club to a district runner-up slot in 2018 adding all-conference honors and an all-tournament selection in 2019. During week five of 2019, Gay was named the Merrill Lynch Scholar-Athlete of the Week. The middle blocker was a member of the Beta Club.
McKenna Hall – Libero – 5-7 – Bristol, Wis.
In four years of varsity at Westosha High School, the freshman posted 398 kills, 27 solo blocks and 1,031 digs. She was an all-county pick on three occasions capped by a first-team selection in 2019 in a year where she earned honorable mention all-state laurels. Playing for a team that was ranked first in the state during her tenure, she exceled in the classroom being a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and an Academic All-State pick.
Taylor Keeran – Outside Hitter – 6-0 – Gailon, Ohio
Keeran registered a highly productive career tallying three first-team all-conference selections culminating with conference Player of the Year honors and a second-team all-Ohio nod. She produced 943 career kills, 343 blocks, 447 digs and 80 aces. Playing middle as a senior, Keeran led the conference in hitting percentage (.446) posting 280 smashes (third in the league), 78 blocks (fourth in the league) and 41 aces. She led Gailon High School to three Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Championships. Her final year, 2019, was a season that featured a flawless 12-0 conference slate never dropping a set with a 24-2 overall record and a district championship.
The Buckeye State native starred in the high jump in 2018 earning a honorable mention all-conference plaudit finishing fifth in the district.
Her grandfather, Terry Holt, was a wrestler at Otterbein College and her mother, Ali Stanley, participated in track and field at Miami (Ohio).
Kylie Watson – Libero – 5-6 – Casper, Wyo.
Watson ventures to Jefferson City after spending two seasons at Casper College where she played in 68 matches racking up 920 digs, a 3.88 per set average. She added 59 aces in two years for the Thunderbirds. In her 68 outings, Watson finished with double-digit digs 44 times including 10 with at least 20. In a five-set win over Trinidad State on Sept. 20, 2019, Watson posted a career-high 31 digs.
Among her honors, Watson was an Academic All-American at Casper College and an All-State selection in high school adding National Honor Society membership and Natrona's Valedictorian.
Skylor Weaver –Outside Hitter – 5-11 – Katy, Texas
Joining Carson-Newman from Katy High School, Weaver was a first-team all-district selection as a senior posting 379 kills, 91 blocks, 94 digs and 12 aces. With a laundry list of academic honors, she was a member of the National Honor Society being named Academic All-State.
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