MATCH NOTES

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman begins its journey to the SAC Championship Match with a quarterfinal contest against Mars Hill on Tuesday night. 

Mars Hill (16-9, 13-5 SAC) has been on a roll since Carson-Newman (16-10, 12-6 SAC) swept the Lions on their home floor in early October. Since that meeting, MHU has won 12 of its last 14 matches, with the only two losses coming to Wingate and Anderson. The stretch of matches includes a four-set victory over Carson-Newman inside Holt Fieldhouse in November.

The Lions star is Laela Jimenez. The libero has over five digs per set and is one of the best liberos in the conference. She gave the Eagles fits in the most recent meeting. Blockers also came up huge for Mars Hill, with Kaitlyn Grant and Nikkayla Stewart owning over 80 total blocks on the season.

Grant also shines offensively, with a team-leading 214 kills for 2.33 per set. Ioana Poenaru also stepped up against the Eagles last time; she ranks second in kills on the Lions' roster. Mackenzie Schmucker and Alyssa Kornegay lead the Lions in assists, each with over 400.

Carson-Newman leads the all-time series with Mars Hill 44-29 with a 5-4 mark at the SAC Tournament. The Eagles have never faced the Lions in Mars Hill at the conference tournament. 

Carson-Newman plays in the same position as last season, the road team in the 4-5 matchup in the SAC quarterfinals. Last season, C-N fell in straight sets to Lenoir-Rhyne.

The Eagles last escaped the first round in 2022 when they beat Newberry at home, Tusculum, in the semifinals before falling to Wingate in the conference championship. Carson-Newman had not won a true road game in the SAC quarterfinals since 2015, when Anderson, the Eagles' first-round opponent, hosted the tournament.

C-N last faced Mars Hill at the conference tournament in 2019 when the Eagles defended Holt Fieldhouse, winning in straight sets; that season was also the last in which the Eagles won the SAC championship. Carson-Newman is seeking a run in the South Atlantic Conference tournament in hopes of hearing its name called next Monday at the NCAA selection show.

The Eagles have been led by the freshman duo of Emerson Ahsmuhs (Placentia, Calif.) and Maddie Hurst (Blaine, Tenn.), who lead the Eagles in kills, while Blair Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.) continues to rack up assists. Of note, Carson-Newman has been very fortunate on Tuesdays, as the Eagles are 7-1 on the campaign, with the lone loss coming in the Eagles' most recent Tuesday contest against Limestone. 

The match with Mars Hill will be the first SAC Tournament match under the direction of first-year head coach Cat Collins, who has been an assistant with the program since 2019. 

First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday inside Chambers Gymnasium in Mars Hill, N.C. The match will be streamed on FloSports, which you can watch with a subscription. You can also follow the match for free online by keeping up with @CN_Eagles on X. To keep up to date with Carson-Newman volleyball, follow us on social media @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram or Facebook at Carson-Newman Athletics.