Posted: Nov 07, 2024
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - With just three matches to go in the regular season, Carson-Newman hits the road for its final road trip before the SAC Tournament.
Carson-Newman (16-7, 12-3 SAC) has just three matches remaining and begins a two-match road trip starting with Coker (4-16, 3-11 SAC) on Friday night before taking on Limestone on Tuesday.
Coker has struggled this season, especially at home, where the Cobras have a mark of 1-11. However, three of its four wins this season have come in South Atlantic Conference play, including its most recent match on Wednesday night, a road sweep of Catawba.
The lone home win of the season for Coker was in its own preseason tournament, the Coker Cobra Classic, where it defeated Belmont Abbey in four sets. Since that point, Coker has dropped eight straight inside the Deloach Center.
Coker is led by a tandem of freshman right side Cayla Gilmore and senior outside Taylor Hills, who each have over 185 kills, surpassing 2.5 per set. Another Cobra duo of Laila Hixon and Maddy Roberts lead Coker in assists, each having over 300 on the season, for over four per set. No other Cobra has more than 70 assists.
Defensively, Meadow Morse is the primary libero with 342 digs (5.10 D/S), while Kailyn Ivey and McKay Kasper each have over 70 blocks as the leading middle blockers.
Carson-Newman has already surpassed its win total from last season of 14 after an upset win over the top-ranked team in the SAC, Lenoir-Rhyne, in straight sets to tie last season's total before surpassing it in a four-set road win at UVA Wise.
Offensively, the Eagles have surged from freshman performances from Maddie Hurst and Emerson Ahsmuhs.
Senior utility player Blake Cherry surpassed the 1,000 digs mark in the most recent Eagles' match against Mars Hill. Her younger sister, Blair, surpassed Allyson Cohrn for seventh all-time in program career assists with her performance against Emory & Henry.
Libero Bennett McCombs put together a Defensive Player of the Week caliber performance against MHU with 27, setting a new career high.
If the season were to end before Friday night's SACtion, Carson-Newman would face Tusculum in the first round of the SAC Tournament in Jefferson City as the 7-2 quarterfinal. The Eagles were listed in the NCAA's initial Southeast Region ranking for consideration to be let into the NCAA Tournament in December.
First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday from the Deloach Center in Hartsville, S.C. The match will be streamed with a subscription via FloSports, and you can follow along for free by following @CN_Eagles on X.
To keep up with Carson-Newman Volleyball, follow us on social media @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram or Facebook at Carson-Newman Athletics.
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