CAT COLLINS INTERVIEW

TAYLOR KEERAN INTERVIEW

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman rocked and rolled the Pioneers of Tusculum all night long to sweep the season series against the Eagles' arch-rival.

Carson-Newman (12-5, 8-2 SAC) forced its archrivals Tusculum (7-10, 5-4 SAC) into multiple attacking, serving, and blocking errors on the night, as the Pioneers only managed to hit .125. The Eagles battled through late adversity from TU, defeating their opponents from Greeneville in four sets, 3-1.  

"We had a different look than we typically have. I just loved how our girls kinda owned their new roles, regardless of where they were." Carson-Newman volleyball head coach Cat Collins said. "We're all on the same page, wanting the same thing, so we were able to come out successful."

Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) earned Food City Player of the Game honors, hitting .474 on the night with 11 kills to go along with it.

"In practice, we work on hitting the deep corner, where their defense isn't ready [for it]." Keeran said. "Tipping through the short, obviously, we practice that a lot and it just worked."

First Set (25-10, C-N) – The night started hot for the Eagles as Maddie Hurst (Blaine, Tenn.) collected five kills while the Pioneers contributed Carson-Newman's dominant set, committing ten attacking errors and two service errors en route to hitting -.167 in the first frame. Carson-Newman rode a seven-point scoring run with Bennett McCombs (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) at the service line to finish the set.

Second Set (25-15, C-N) – The Eagles built an early lead in the set and never looked back, leading 5-1 at the first TU timeout. Emerson Ahsmuhs (Placentia, Calif.) led the Eagles through the second frame with five kills. Carson-Newman had its best offensive set of the night, hitting .452 as a team.

Third Set (25-22, TU) – The Pioneers would not go down without a fight and rallied using an 8-0 run to go from trailing 11-8 in the set to leading 16-11. The Pios would stretch the lead to as many as eight points, but the determined Eagles fought back. Carson-Newman went on a late 7-1 run, bringing the score to 24-22 before Tusculum finished the job with a kill from McKayla Willey. TU hit .333 in the set, their top mark on the night.

Fourth Set (26-24, C-N) – Carson-Newman and Tusculum battled through a set that featured four ties and two lead changes. Bella Cardello (Fountain Hills, Ariz.) shined in the fourth frame on a night where she made her first career start; she collected a kill and a block to hit .500 in the frame. Carson-Newman pushed the Pios to the brink at match point 24-23 before TU evened the frame, forcing the set beyond 25 points. A kill from each Cherry sister gave C-N the win after Blair Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.) ended the match after a ball hit off the large eagle atop the dome of Holt Fieldhouse, bringing it back into play. An extra touch from the eagle painting gave the Eagles the win over their arch-rivals.

The Eagles will embark on a two-match road trip beginning Thursday night with an unconventional October non-conference matchup. They will take on Lander at 6:00 p.m. and face Newberry on next Tuesday night. To keep up with Carson-Newman volleyball, follow us on social media @CN_Eagles on X, Instagram, and Facebook, and follow Carson-Newman Athletics.