VIDEO: Cat Collins on Incoming Talent
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman volleyball has brought in a whopping 10 new student-athletes for the 2024 season.
Seven freshmen and three transfers debut on the roster for the Eagles following the departure of nine ladies from last season.
Highlighting the new additions are three transfers: Addie Smith (Jonesborough, Tenn.), Bahar Kurtulus (Ankara, Turkey), and Kylee Oldenburger (Cedar Rapids, Iowa).
Smith, a sophomore transfer from Division III Maryville, primarily plays setter and collected three rare triple-doubles while playing for the Scots last season, tied for 16th amongst Division III athletes.
The addition of Kurtulus marks a historic occasion in Carson-Newman volleyball history as the first international player in program history originally hailing from Ankara, Turkey. She brings Division I experience suiting up for Cincinnati and hitting the hardwood for UNC-Asheville.
"She's our first international so a big learning curve for both us and her," Carson-Newman volleyball head coach Cat Collins said. "She brings so much experience and with a huge freshman class, going out and getting experience like her, that she has, is big for us."
Rounding out the transfers is a familiar name to Mossy Creek as Kylee Oldenburger, the younger sister of former Carson-Newman volleyball standout Meg Oldenburger, joins the Eagles out of Upper Iowa University.
"Well they are very similar," Collins said. "She has a lot of experience coming from Upper Iowa, that conference is insane so she's seen high level volleyball and she's going to bring that experience to us."
Additionally, the roster is loaded with freshman talent: Emerson Ahsmuhs (Placentia, Calif.), Annie Dziczkowski (Aiken, S.C.), Claire Bolton (Morristown, Tenn.), Maddie Hurst (Blaine, Tenn.), Nora Van Horn (Cary, N.C.), Bella Cardello (Fountain Hills, Ariz.), and Caroline Kantner (St. Petersburg, Fla.) will see the collegiate court for the first time in an Eagles uniform in 2024.
The new additions to the roster hit the court on Sept. 6 when the Eagles open their season against Missouri-St. Louis at the Union Volleyball Classic in Jackson, Tenn.
