VIDEO: Ashley Tiernan Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time since 2013, Carson-Newman volleyball will open the year inside of Holt Fieldhouse ending a 444-day string between matches playing Catawba on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the first of 10 South Atlantic Conference affairs.
"Everybody defines success differently," Carson-Newman coach Ashley Tiernan said. "For us, being able to put that jersey on on our home court and compete again – these girls have been craving this for 444 days. The success for us will be as a program and as a team getting together to compete together on the court regardless of a win or loss."
Carson-Newman is 17-11 in season openers all-time. Dating back to 2006, the Eagles have won 12 of their last 14 lidlifters with the lone blemishes coming in a five-set loss to Francis Marion to begin the 2012 season and the 2016 season opener versus second-ranked and defending national champion Wheeling Jesuit, a four-set loss in Pensacola, Fla.
In the history of the program, the first conference contest of the season has been hit-and-miss with an overall record of 13-15. On the road, the Eagles are 11-17 in their first road outing of the year but 15-12 in the initial home affair.
"It really feels like it's been a long, long, long time since we've been able to compete," Tiernan said. "We have had six months to get a chance to practice together and our freshmen have been on the court and competing with our starters. Getting a start on the floor tomorrow will be huge for our program and myself technically starting as a new head coach."
In 2019, the program was nearly unbeatable at home posting a 14-2 record in matches played at Holt Fieldhouse winning sets by a 46-10 margin. In those outings, the team posted a .224 hitting percentage behind 12.46 kills per set and nearly three rejections.
Catawba has been one of the most frequent opponents for the school as Saturday is the 70th all-time meeting with the Indians holding a 37-32 edge. However, C-N has dominated the recent stretch with wins in six straight matches dropping a grand total of one set in that time. Overall, the Eagles have won 12 of the last 14 dating back to the start of the 2013 year.
Last year, the Orange and Blue swept both affairs against the tribe tallying eight total blocks in each match pounding out north of 13 smashes per game and hitting .300 between the outings. Catawba was limited to below a .100 efficiency mark with 40 attack errors.
Erin Edwards (Midlothian, Va.) led the way for the team in both matches with 10 kills and 11 kills respectively making a grand total of two attack errors. Taylor Rohr (Windsor, Colo.) dished out 21 assists in each game.
Catawba finished the 2019 regular season in a tie for ninth five games below Lincoln Memorial for eighth with a 5-17 SAC record and 7-19 mark overall dropping its final two matches of the year including the finale at home to the Eagles.
Kylie Morgan is one of the top returners in the league after being named honorable mention all-league in 2019. The 2021 preseason second-team All-SAC selection was fifth in the conference in kills per set averaging 3.08. The junior outside hitter posted double figures 10 times but only twice in the final nine matches of the year. In the two meetings with C-N, Morgan had a total of five kills and four errors.
The Indians were among the worst defensive teams in the country yielding an opponent hitting percentage of .219 in 2019, ranking in the bottom 50. They average 1.57 blocks per set and only had three matches in double digits and six outings with three or fewer.
The match will feature a video broadcast on cneagles.com/live as the Eagle Sports Network provides the sights and sounds from the friendly confines.
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