September 30, 2024

Carson-Newman Clashes Catawba on Tuesday Night

Carson-Newman carries its perfect conference record into a clash with Catawba in Mossy Creek.

Catawba

1-9, 0-4 SAC

Carson-Newman

10-3, 6-0 SAC

Final	1	2	3	T
Catawba 1-9, 0-4 SAC	11	17	17	0
Carson-Newman 10-3, 6-0 SAC	25	25	25	3

MATCH NOTES

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman carries its perfect conference record into a clash with Catawba in Mossy Creek.

Catawba (1-8, 0-3 SAC) visits Mossy Creek, having lost all nine sets it has played against conference competition. The Indians' lone win this season was their season opener against Barton, who now similarly has a record of 1-8.

Carson-Newman (9-3, 5-0 SAC) is coming off a win on Saturday afternoon over UVA-Wise in straight sets. The Eagles are on their best start to conference play since 2015, and a win over the Indians would give them their best start since 2014. Carson-Newman enters the match with the Indians on a four-match winning streak against conference foes.

After opening the season with a straight-sets victory over Barton, Catawba has dropped eight matches in a row. In the non-conference, outside of the Barton match, the Indians only won five sets through five matches.

Catawba has yet to win a set in conference play, getting swept by Wingate, Anderson, and Newberry. The Indians were supposed to square off against Mars Hill last Saturday, but due to the effects of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, that match has been postponed to a later date.

Individually, Catawba is led by junior outside Kelcie Love, who has collected 64 kills thus far and is averaging 2.37 kills per set. The primary setter for the Indians is freshman Sydney McCutcheon, who averages 6.19 assists per set and has 180 assists on the year; no other player on the team has more than 22.

Defensively, Catawba looks to its libero, Riley Hill. Hill averages 2.94 digs per set and is assisted by defensive specialist Kary Hales, who has 2.29 digs per set. Hill leads the team in digs with 94.

Up front, middle-blocking junior Katie Clark has collected the most blocks so far with 12, four solo blocks, and eight assists. She averages a block about every two sets, boasting a block-per-set ratio of 0.43. Of note, sophomore middle Lauren Patrick is second in command with nine blocks for 0.41 per set.

The Eagles and Indians will meet for the 75th time in the series' history. Catawba holds a slim 39-35 lead all-time, with Catawba winning last season's only meeting in four sets in Salisbury. The match will take place in Jefferson City for the first time since 2021, with the past three iterations of the series taking place on Catawba's campus.

Carson-Newman has been highlighted this season by sophomore setter Blair Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.), named the South Atlantic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week for her performances last week.

Freshmen Maddie Hurst (Blaine, Tenn.) and Emerson Ahsmuhs (Placentia, Calif.) still lead the way in kills, while Hurst has teamed up with veteran middle blocker Taylor Keeran (Galion, Ohio) to lead the team in blocks. Hurst collected a new career-high eight block assists and 4.0 total blocks in the winning effort against Wise.

First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. from Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City. Those not making it to the match can watch online with a subscription to FloSports or follow along online for free by following @CN_Eagles on X for live in-game updates. For those attending the match, faculty, students and anyone under 18 can get into the match for free, it is $5 for anyone else.