JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman volleyball (12-14, 9-5 SAC) opens up November with a road match at the Chambers Gymnasium to face the Mars Hill Lions (12-98, 6-7 SAC) on Wednesday night, set for a 6 pm first serve. 

C-N leads Mars Hill overall 42-27. Ashley Tiernan has guided the Eagles to three wins and three losses to the Lions since she joined Carson-Newman as the head volleyball coach in 2019.

The Eagles and Lions have met once this season on September 29 at Holt Fieldhouse. C-N took the match 3-1, breaking a two year losing streak to Mars Hill. At the matchup in Mossy Creek, Carson-Newman led the Lions in kills (39-53), hitting percentage (.170-.075), service aces (12-3), and total blocks (7.0-5.0). Mars Hill led only in digs (85-83). 

Mars Hill has proven to be one of the strongest defensive team in the league and the nation. They rank first nationally and first in the conference in digs per set (19.78). The Eagles stand eighth in the conference for digs per set with 16.20.

Laela Jimenez ranks first in the SAC and third in nation for digs per set (5.90). She also leads with total digs (431). The Lions have two other athletes that fall into the top twenty in the conference for digs per set, Jada Cannon (3.38) and Jordan Schmucker (3.28)

Coach Mike Smith has produced a well rounded team, landing fourth SAC wide in assists per set (11.55), sixth in blocks per set (1.84), fourth in kills per set (12.41), and fifth in hitting percentage (.178). They also lead the conference and rank second nation wide in team attacks per set (40.05). 

Since their first matchup in September, the Lions have gone 3-4 against league competition. Two of those losses came from Anderson, one from Limestone, and a sweep from Emory & Henry. 

First serve is set for 6:00 P.M on Wednesday night. To follow along fans can watch on Flo Sports with a subscription or head to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates