Carson-Newman Volleyball Outsides and Middles Position Preview

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Posted: Aug 18, 2022

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With the 2022 Carson-Newman volleyball season opener just over a week away, it is time to break down the Eagles roster with the final of two position previews with a look at the outside hitters and middle blockers with senior Julia Wheeler.

The glaring departure out of this group is former SAC Tournament MVP and two-time all-league selection Erin Edwards. Finishing just shy of 1,000 career kills, the opposite posted a career hitting percentage of .275, the fourth-best margin in school history while ranking in the top 10 in program history in blocks.

Wheeler capped her first season on campus with the 20th-most kills in the country averaging 3.46 per set earning AVCA All-Region laurels scoring nearly 500 points for the team. For her efforts, she was twice named the South Atlantic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week.

"I think taking old goals and turning them into new things is what's going to take us to another level," Wheeler said. "Everything that happened last for me last season wasn't about what I did. There were two contacts before that. The more we push for new goals in personal ways is how we all grow pushing past different accolades."

The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native recorded a laundry list of highlights including producing three straight 20-plus kill efforts for the first time in the recorded history of the program, tying the high mark for kills in a match with 27 versus Mars Hill on Oct. 12 and record a 20-kill and 20-dig match for the first time by an Eagle since 2015.

"It's made it a lot easier to having a strong role instead of coming in as a new face," Wheeler said. "It's made it a lot easier to transition with the team. I know how preseason works. I know my coaches. I know the people around me. It's made it a lot easier to push everyone else and be pushed within my own boundaries."

Giving the team a valuable tandem on the left pin, All-Freshman team selection Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.) showed a great knack for defense with 19 double-digit nights on the floor piling up six double-doubles and seven nights with 10-plus smashes.

"She's been kicking butt like normal," Wheeler said. "I expected nothing less. I think in our outside position as a whole we have a lot of depth. It's really cool to push each other around whenever we are trying to fight it out for stuff. We are always seeing different things. We have so many people on the team so it's preparing us for every circumstance."

There will be no shortage of options up front for coach Ashley Tiernan with returners Taylor Adams (Covington, Ga.) and Emmagrace Cobb (Greensboro, N.C.) being joined by newcomers Calla Shotwell (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Paige Bussom (Simpsonville, S.C.), Payton Burkett (Seneca, S.C.) and Molly Langford (Olathe, Kan.).

In the middle, Skylor Weaver (Katy, Texas) and Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) showcased adaptability in their first seasons as middle blockers. Weaver led the team in rejections 10 times, posted two 10-plus kill nights and became a weapon in the service game with 37 aces. Keeran was one of the most efficient attackers in the league posting a .283 mark and nearly one block per set.

Sophomore Jaelyn Sorensen (Le Roy, Ill.) and rookie Grace Akard (Maryville, Tenn.) round out the crew at the net.

Carson-Newman opens the 2022 campaign on Aug. 26 against Alabama Huntsville at noon in the first of four matches during the Trevecca Tournament in the Music City.

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