VIDEO: Ashley Tiernan Interview
AIKEN, S.C. – For the first time since 2016 Carson-Newman opens its season with four matches travelling to the Convocation Center for affairs against UNC Pembroke and USC Aiken on Friday at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. respectively and Embry-Riddle and Converse on Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. to light the candle on the 2021 campaign.
"We came in and saw something special with this team from day one," coach Ashley Tiernan said. "We are really excited to see what this weekend will bring. From day one until now, I have seen growth in every single one of these athletes. Each day we are growing so each day keeps getting better and better.
"We scheduled this tournament knowing it wouldn't be a walk in the park. We want to compete and play at a high level going into conference play next weekend. Setting the tone for the season is going to be big. We are going to work through some things and test some lineups."
Four matches to open up a slate had been a popular tactic for the program doing so for seven of the nine years before transitioning to three matches played in Harrogate. The only time the Eagles won all four matches came in 2010 when they won each of the first five affairs of the year setting the stage for an NCAA Tournament run.
Carson-Newman is 18-11 in season openers all-time. Dating back to 2006, the Eagles have won 13 of their last 15 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.
"Team bonding with females is huge," Tiernan said. "This will be our first trip away. We will get multiple opportunities to feel out every body's personalities while we are away from campus. We want to see the bonding and the chemistry on the court. We want to get quick a few players some playing time."
This season marks the sixth time in the last seven campaigns that the Orange and Blue hit the road to open up the year. During the contests away from home, the club is 13-8 returning to Mossy Creek with a winning record five times.
C-N starts the year with a Conference Carolinas school for the fourth time in the last eight years winning each of those matches, all in four sets. UNC Pembroke is the opponent for the 8th time with the Eagles holding onto a 4-3 all-time edge. However, the last time the two programs faced off was on Sept. 13, 2014 when the Braves walked away with a five-set win. Lauren Santarelli led all players with a career-high 23 kills and an impressive .365 attack percentage to go along with 2.5 blocks. The Eagles finished that season 20-2 in conference action and swept USC Aiken in the first round.
The Braves won half of their 14 conference matches in their final year of Peach Belt action losing in straight games to Flagler in the conference tournament. In 2019, the team went 15-21 overall but only won a pair of the dozen league affairs on the docket.
Kaila Crowder and Elly Hicks are the two seniors on the team with the former averaging over two kills per set in each of the last three seasons. Carly Wehling will lean on that experience in her first year on the bench after being an assistant at Indian Hills Community College for the two years prior.
Tiernan's troops will challenge the host school, USC Aiken, for the first of two meetings at the Convocation Center in 2021. The Pacers hold the lead, 9-5, through the first 14 contests. C-N has dropped five of the last six contests but came out on top on Oct. 11, 2019 gathering a sweep. The Eagles have never won a match on the road in the series falling in all six outings with one five-set decision coming in 2002.
The Pacers went 9-5 during the spring season finishing third, being predicted for the same slot with just six teams remaining in the league. Glenn Cox has a history of guiding highly competitive units with 20-plus wins in each of the last six full years going 152-37, a robust .804 winning percentage.
Kari Mercer and Alie Smith led the team this year after prolific years. Mercer was the PBC Libero of the Year racking up 313 digs and 6.26 digs per set. Smith has over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career and racked up a gaudy 5.35 kills per set to earn conference Player of the Year honors being an all-conference pick for the fourth time.
Carson-Newman has never played a match against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, members of the Sunshine State Conference. The program has played 20 matches against the league holding a 6-14 mark with its last win coming on Sept. 12, 2008, a five-set win over Rollins. The only team the Eagles have a winning record against is Lynn with two wins coming over a two-week period in 2003.
ERAU, as its known, is the largest accredited university system specializing in aviation and aerospace with numerous online programs and several satellite locations. With main campus located in Daytona Beach, Fla., the Eagles were accepted into Division II in 2014.
Due to Covid, the program did not compete during the 2020-21 academic year but it was a program on the rise reaching its first-ever NCAA Regional in 2019 finishing 19-9 overall behind a strong 6-1 record in neutral site affairs. Tampa, ranked fifth in the country, is the preseason favorites with the Eagles slotted at seventh.
Like many teams, it is an underclass-laden roster with one senior and four juniors on the unit. There are eight true freshman on the roster. Melanie Canfield, the lone senior on the roster, has 919 career kills with 84 matches under her belt.
Joslynn Gallop has guided the team to over 300 wins in her 14 seasons with the program as the third coach in school history. The team has had just one losing season in her career, a 12-18 campaign in 2015, the first year during the transition to NCAA action.
The Eagles have dominated the series all-time against Converse winning all 14 of the match ups including 10 of those in three with zero affairs lasting five frames. It is the best unbeaten mark against program with 9-0 marks against Cumberland and Montreat next on the ledger. The last meeting came on Sept. 10, 2014, a straight sweep.
The Valkyries produced its best season ever during the Covid-shortened year winning six of 11 matches including six of their last eight to conclude the campaign. However it is a program that struggled mightily during the 2010s to the tune of a 47-245 overall record good for a .161 winning percentage. There was only one season with double-digit wins, 2019 going 10-23. In 2012, Converse recorded a 0-31 mark taking an opponent to five sets just three times.
There are six seniors on the roster including three all-conference selections. Savannah Ducote was a first-team honoree leading the league with 10.07 assists per set. Fellow first-teamer Elizabeth Yohe averaged 5.48 digs per set in her third season as a starter. Kiara Cannon was a third-team pick posting 123 kills on a .241 hitting percentage.
Video for the matches can be accessed through the online portal with stats available here. Follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter for the latest updates throughout all of the matches.
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