Match Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman takes a 3-0 SAC record on the road to take on arch-rival Tusculum.

Tusculum (5-6, 3-0 SAC) is tied with Carson-Newman (7-3, 3-0 SAC) atop the SAC standings, with both teams at 3-0. However, the Pioneers faced drawbacks in the early season, going 2-6 in non-conference play.

Despite the 3-0 conference record, Tusculum's wins came against Coker, Emory & Henry, and Mars Hill, three teams resting toward the bottom of the SAC preseason poll.

The Pioneers have faced two teams that the Eagles have faced to this point of the season, taking down Emory & Henry in straight sets and falling in three sets to Harding, a team Carson-Newman defeated earlier this season.

Tusculum is led individually by freshman outside Addison McLarty. The impressive freshman leads the team in kills with 100 and a kill-per-set ratio of 2.86. The top setter for the Pioneers is senior Madison Adkins, who averages 8.54 assists per set and is the only Pioneer with over 30 assists on the season, with 350 to her name thus far.

Defensively, senior libero Amiranee Au wears the different colored jersey and has amassed 118 digs (2.95 digs per set) this season. Up front junior middle blocker Martina Foster has collected 29 total digs for 0.71 blocks per set.

Carson-Newman and Tusculum have a rich history on the volleyball court, with Friday night's edition of the rivalry being the 71st all-time meeting. Tusculum holds a narrow edge in the series history leading 36-34, however, Carson-Newman has won four of the last five meetings against the Pioneers.

Carson-Newman is led individually by freshmen Maddie Hurst (Blaine, Tenn.) and Emerson Ahsmuhs (Placentia, Calif.), both of whom lead the team in kills and rank in the top 10 in the conference in kills per set.

Fifth year senior middle blocker Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) impressed last time out with a nine kill, seven block match against Limestone.

The Eagles' one question mark remains the libero position, as Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.), Bennett McCombs (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), and Trinity Hafey (Grand Junction, Colo.) each have worn the libero jersey.

One moment to watch on Friday night is from sophomore setter Blair Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.), who is 22 assists away from breaking into the Carson-Newman all-time assists leaderboard. Cherry sits at 1,131 career assists, and former Carson-Newman volleyball setter Jennifer Hyde (1994-96) is tenth place on the list with 1,153 career assists. Of note, Kari Gibson (2003-06) tops the leaderboard with 5,171 career assists.

First serve at Pioneer Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday. 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.