Big block and sharp shooting sails volleyball past LMU
Cat Collins’ squad picked up their first 20-win season under her guidance, while Dziczkowski and Hurst set new single-match highs in hitting percentage.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
19 | 17 | 23 | 0 |
|
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
VIDEO: Annie Dziczkowski Interview
VIDEO: Bella Cardello Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Cat Collins' squad picked up their first 20-win season under her guidance, while Dziczkowski and Hurst set new single-match highs in hitting percentage.
"We did some revisiting after our Wingate loss and just making sure that we're mentally strong," said Collins after the win. "That was our biggest focus this week. We've done a lot of different drills trying to battle through things and come back and drills and push ourselves that way and it definitely paid off today."
It was a win that marked a new milestone for head coach Cat Collins in her second season at the helm of the Carson-Newman volleyball program, as the Eagles out-staged the LMU Railsplitters in a three-set sweep in Holt Fieldhouse. This is Collin's first twenty-win season as head coach of the Eagles indoor program, and it moves her to 36-15 in her tenure.
"We bleed confidence into each other and we're not so overcome by an error that we're going to make another one. We want our athletes to be able to play free and to be able to play as themselves, and so we like to remind them of who we are, what our culture is, and what our program is about," said Collins.
The Eagles flexed their arms too, outperforming the Railsplitters in nearly every category. The night was headlined by the standout performances of Annie Dziczkowski and Maddie Hurst, who combined for 32 of C-N's 46 kills while setting single-game records in hitting percentage. Dziczkowski tied a single-game record, hitting .667 on 21 swings. The only other time that has been done in C-N history was when Kaina Roehrkasse did it against Emmanuel in 2019. Hurst also landed just behind Dziczkowski in the record books, slotting in 2nd all-time in single-game hitting percentage at .652. That is the second time this season Hurst has etched herself among single-game hitting percentage highs at C-N.
"We've been really working on setter-hitter connection, really speeding up the sets. And I think Blair [Cherry] did an amazing job setting tonight, pushing it to the pin, and I was just able to use the block on our scouting reports," said Dziczkowski. "It worked."
Cat Collins had nothing but shining reviews on Dziczkowski's performance.
"She was insane. That was crazy. That's so fun. She's so smart. She's a coach's kid and she just embodies a great athlete. She's always very mentally strong regardless of what the outcome is. I think everybody can trust her to do her job," said Collins. " I always get comments after games about how fun she is to watch just because she's so smart and she's really stepped into the IQ piece of the game."
All of the action at the net was expertly navigated by junior setter Blair Cherry, who hit a milestone of her own this evening. With her 10th assist in the contest, Cherry officially moved into the 5th spot in career assists in Carson-Newman volleyball history. The setter was the 15th Eagle in history to hit 1,000 assists in a single season, and one of six C-N players to dish 2,500 assists over her career. After her 16th game this season with 30 or more assists, she has racked up 2576 total assists over her three seasons. She had 38 in the contest against LMU.
"Great, great choices by Blair, too. And she had great choices on offense with her attack," said Collins.
The lead only changed one time in this match, as Carson-Newman sat in the driver's seat and remained there for all but one time in the three sets.
In set one, the Eagles used a five-serve run from Trinity Hafey to jump on the Railsplitters 11-5. To that point, LMU had only notched one kill, and were getting their points off C-N errors. The Eagles clamped down, though, letting Dziczkowski do her thing to collect a perfect seven kills on seven swings while Hurst put six away on eight swings. LMU accounted for 10 of their 19 points in the first set in the form of Carson-Newman errors with just nine kills in the first set. A .469 hitting clip in set one elevated the Eagles over LMU in set one 25-19.
Set two was full of great serving from the Eagles, who used their in-system advantage to grab an 8-1 lead off two serving runs from Raychel Ehlers and Dziczkowski. Another five-serve run from Addie Smith would see the Eagles up 13-5. C-N would falter slightly in the middle of set two, allowing LMU to crawl back within one at the 18-17 mark. However, a well-timed break from Cat Collins would right the ship, and Annie Dziczkowski dive-bombed three aces from the service line to wrap up set two with a 25-17 score. C-N forced the Railsplitters to seven errors in set two for a .032 hitting percentage.
Set three was lining up to be a very different story. Lincoln Memorial came out with a vengeance, taking an 11-3 lead with an explosion of kills from Lexi McGee. After a Carson-Newman timeout, the Eagles began chipping away, using short runs from Hafey, Ehlers, and Claire Bolton and being efficient with sideouts. They edged the Splitters all the way to a 19-20 score before LMU would take a timeout. The block turned on down the stretch for C-N, with five team blocks in the final frame, which shifted the momentum entirely to the Eagles. Following four errors in a row from LMU, Hurst jumped on a ball to put the set away in a come-from-behind victory 25-23. Hurst and Dziczkowski both had 5 kills in the third, while Emerson Ahsmuhs and Bella Cardello both collected four blocks.
This is Carson-Newman's fourth game this season that the team has reached double-digit blocks. With ten on the evening, they mark the first game since September 12th that they have had ten or more. Bella Cardello was the block leader with five block assists and a solo stuff.
"Knowing that my team had my back was a big thing, and knowing if I got a block touch, they would be right there behind me," said Cardello. "Everyone having that same energy and that grit and fight tonight was really there."
Combined with 40 digs from the defense, the Eagles limited the Railsplitters to a .101 hitting percentage over the match. Emerson Ahsmuhs was the leader on the floor with 12 digs while Hafey followed with 9.
For the Railsplitters, Lexi McGee was the only LMU player with 10 or more kills, while Dobson followed with eight. Lauren Jacob picked up eight digs on defense and was one of three Railsplitters with multiple service aces.
With their second win in a row, Carson-Newman moves to 20-4 on the year and 11-4 in conference play. They currently hold a four-game lead over UVA Wise for fourth place and are one game back of Lenoir-Rhyne.
Carson-Newman returns to the floor Saturday afternoon at 6:00 PM at Mars Hill for one of three SAC games remaining on their schedule and the final road contest of the year.
"We always wanted to make sure we take care of Mars Hill when we're at Mars Hill. It's a weird gym to play in and we don't love it. And so just making sure we have a great mindset going into it," said Collins
Team Stats
Lincoln Memorial
| Game Statistics | Lincoln Memorial | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .101 | .358 |
| Blocks | 4.0 | 10.0 |
| Digs | 33 | 40 |
| Aces | 10 | 6 |
