Match Notes

Cat Collins Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman volleyball takes its perfect conference record into a match with a red-hot Limestone side.

Carson-Newman (6-3, 2-0 SAC) comes into the match having a full week off after sweeping Emory & Henry on Sept. 16. Limestone (3-3, 2-1 SAC) hits the road after taking down UVA-Wise in four sets at home, and rides into Mossy Creek on a two-match winning streak including an upset win over Anderson.

The Eagles got a rare opportunity to see how they matched up with the Saints earlier this season at the Union Volleyball Classic. Limestone faced the same three opponents as Carson-Newman, an unusual chance to scout a conference opponent in person.

"The three teams we faced [at Union] all played Limestone when we were scouting them," Carson-Newman volleyball head coach Cat Collins said. "It allowed us to see a little bit of what we're going to see on Tuesday, and the coach there has done such a great job. Their offense is a lot faster this year. They have a lot more weapons, so when we were watching at Union, we said 'Okay, we have to be ready for that.'"

Following its lone non-conference series of the season, Limestone has gone 2-1 in SAC play with an opening five-set loss to Coker before upsetting Anderson on the road in just four sets, the most impressive win on the season for LU thus far as Anderson was projected to finish second in the SAC preseason poll. Most recently, Limestone took down UVA-Wise, including a dominant fourth-set win, 25-12, to finish off the Highland Cavaliers.

The Saints are led individually by sophomore outside Mia McMillan, who leads the team with 222 kills, which is good enough for 2.81 per set. Junior setter Jenna Szabelski leads the team in assists with 397 (5.03 A/S).

Defensively, Limestone turns to Calie Covey as the primary libero. She has collected 293 digs (3.81 D/S) but is trailed closely by teammate Tatum Riddle for the team lead (269 digs, 3.41 D/S). Up front, Kaitlyn Thompson and Chloe Ratliff are the primary middle blockers, each obtaining around 0.70 blocks per set.

Limestone and Carson-Newman split the two meetings against each other last season, but overall, Carson-Newman has won six of the past seven meetings and leads the all-time series 8-2.

Carson-Newman has been led offensively thus far by freshmen Emerson Ahsmuhs (Placentia, Calif.) and Maddie Hurst (Blaine, Tenn.), who have a kill-per-set ratio of over three. Blair Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.) has been the Eagles' top setter with 381 assists, enough for 10.03 assists per set.

Defensively, Carson-Newman has looked to Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.), Trinity Hafey (Grand Junction, Colo.), and Bennett McCombs (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) at libero, with a solid rotation of the three being used through the first nine matches. Fifth-year senior Taylor Keeran serves as the top middle blocker for C-N.

First serve at Holt Fieldhouse is set for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Fans can watch on FloSports ($) with a subscription or follow along at @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram for live game updates throughout the match. Admission to the match is free for Carson-Newman faculty and students and anyone under 18 and $5 for everyone else.