VIDEO: Cat Collins Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman ran into a buzzsaw Lions team inside Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday night, falling in four sets.

Carson-Newman (16-7, 12-3 SAC) fell for the first time inside Holt Fieldhouse in four sets to Mars Hill (13-8, 10-4 SAC), which has now won nine of its last ten matches and is on an active eight-match winning streak.

The highlight of the night for the Eagles came from Blake Cherry (Cookeville, Tenn.), who surpassed 1,000 career digs with her 12^th dig of the night en route to finding 20 in total during the match.

"It's a goal that she shared with me at the beginning of the season." Carson-Newman volleyball head coach Cat Collins said. "She cares so much about this team and every part of their life, so it's great to see her accomplish that."

Younger sister Blair Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.) found another double-double to make it three consecutive matches with a double-double as she collected 37 assists and 12 digs.

Bennett McCombs (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) impressed again, surpassing 20 digs for the third straight match and ending the night with 27, a new career high for the senior. Five Eagles surpassed double-digit digs on the night.

Offensively, the Eagles looked to freshman Emerson Ahsmuhs (Placentia, Calif.) with 16 kills and fifth-year senior Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio), who was a part of seven of the Eagles' 11 blocks.

First Set (25-17, MHU): The Lions took advantage of the Eagles' mistakes early. Carson-Newman committed 13 attacking errors and two service errors, hitting in the negatives in the first set. While Mars Hill didn't hit much better, it was enough to outpace the Eagles, leading to an opening set decision.

Second Set (25-18, C-N) – Carson-Newman returned with a vengeance, determined to defend its home floor, hitting .333 with four total blocks in the frame and five kills from Ahsmuhs alone. The Eagles shined late in the set, and after Mars Hill pulled into an 18-all tie, C-N went on a 7-0 run with Blake Cherry at the service line to tie the set score.

Third Set (25-19, MHU) – In a back-and-forth affair in the third set, the Lions found seven kills in the third set from Ioana Poenaru, who hit .545 in the frame. C-N couldn't overcome an early Mars Hill lead, despite staying within a point of the Lions through most of the middle moments of the set.

Fourth Set (25-23, MHU) – The final set saw a seesaw-like momentum swing as both teams combined for 11 ties and four lead changes. Ahsmuhs found seven more kills in a set where she hit .429, but it wasn't enough to overcome the team attack from the Lions. On match point, the Eagles rallied and kept the point alive before an attacking error, the 32^nd of the night for C-N, ended the home winning streak for Carson-Newman.

The Eagles now await results from across the SAC to see where they stand heading into the final three matches of the regular season. Carson-Newman next hits the road for a two-match South Carolina road trip against Coker and Limestone.

Carson-Newman next faces the Cobras of Coker in Hartsville, S.C. on Friday at 7:00 p.m. To keep up with Carson-Newman Volleyball, follow us on social media @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram, or Facebook at Carson-Newman Athletics.