JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - For their season debut, the Carson-Newman Volleyball squad travel west to the center of the state to compete in the Ray Thrasher Classic hosted by Trevecca Nazarene.
The Eagles will face Alabama Huntsville on Friday at noon then will see Trevecca Nazarene at 8 p.m. The following day they will conclude the tournament with a competition against Bemidji St. at noon and Missouri St. Louis at 4 p.m. All matches will take place at Trojan Fieldhouse.
"We are excited to start competing this weekend" says head coach Ashley Tiernan. "Finding a rythm within ourselves is going to be key to setting the tone for the rest of the season. We feel ready and confident to come back with some valuable information for the start of our conference schedule on Tuesday."
The Ray Thrasher Classic will be the first of two pre-season tournaments for the Eagles with a singular conference match in between. Carson-Newman will face Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday, Sept. 5 then head to Aiken, S.C for the USC Aiken Invitational on Sept. 8-9 before a nine-match conference play streak.
Carson-Newman opened their 2022 season at the Trevecca Nazarene tournament as well, finishing 3-1 for the weekend, finding their one loss to the hosts, 3-2. The Eagles saw Alabama Huntsville in Nashville last season as well but did not meet with Bemidji St. and Missouri St. Louis.
Alabama-Huntsville- Before C-N saw Alabama Huntsville last season, the two teams had not faced off since 2004. In a near sweep, the Eagles overtook the Chargers in last seasons Ray Thrasher Classic 3-1. UAH leads in match history against Carson-Newman from 1990-2022, 9-2. Last season Alabama-Huntsville went 16-16 reaching the first round of the Gulf South Conference Championship. Offensively, they are led by outside hitter Gracie McGee who recorded 269 kills last season for a .103 attack percentage. Savannah Rutledge returns in the setters' position after putting up 535 kill-able balls last season. Two defensive specialists return with over 280 digs on the season.
Trevecca Nazarene- The Trojans went 21-12 this past season, advancing to the Great Midwest Championship match but fell to Hillsdale. They were picked to finish this season third overall in their conference. They graduated their top performing offensive unit Ellie Buffler but brought in two new outside hitters and five returners to the position. Trevecca Nazarene returns one Great Midwest All-Conference third-team pick, Emilee McDonald. She notched 1005 assists last season, 310 digs and 27 service aces.
The Bemidji State- The Beavers finished 2022 4-24 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. They were picked to finish 12th in their conference this year with one player listed as a Player to Watch. Hallie Mertiz returns after seeing time in all matches last season, leading the team in kills and digs. The Beavers are led by head coach Kevin Ulmer, Steph Remley, Rylee Pompa, and Ronnie Nordstrom. This will the first time Carson-Newman and Bemidji St. have met since 2015, when the Eagles swept 3-0.
Missouri-St. Louis- The final match of the weekend will be against No. 10 ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis. They were the top pick in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll after going 25-7 in 2022, winning the Midwest Regional title, and advancing to the national semifinals. All-GLVC first-team picks Lexie Rang and Caitlin Bishop return for the Tritons. Setter Bishop collected 1,341 assists last season while outside hitter Rang notched 410 total kills.
