November 17, 2025

Eagles search for first SAC Tournament victory since 2022 against Wise

UVA Wise will visit with Carson-Newman for the

Virginia-Wise

14-15

Carson-Newman

24-4

Final	1	2	3	T
Virginia-Wise 14-15	20	16	19	0
Carson-Newman 24-4	25	25	25	3

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The quarterfinal matches are ready to get underway in the SAC Volleyball postseason, and after a convoluted tiebreaker, the field is set. UVA Wise will take up the five seed in the tournament after a four-set win over Catawba in their final game in the regular season.

Tusculum will be the six seed after winning the head-to-head matchup between Mars Hill and Coker; the Pioneers will travel to Lenoir-Rhyne. Mars Hill is the 7th seed and will take on Anderson. Rounding out the field, Coker will go to the #1 seeded Wingate Bulldogs.

The Cavaliers are 14-14 on the season overall with a 8-10 conference record. Wise will be on the road at Holt Fieldhouse for the second time this season and the Cavaliers have struggled in opposing gyms this season. On the road, UVA Wise holds a 2-9 record, while their home court advantage has boosted them to 10-4. The fourteen wins are the most since the 2014 season and the eight SAC wins are a new record for SAC wins since UVA Wise joined the conference in 2019 and are the most overall conference wins since 2014.

Last season was UVA Wise's best in nearly a decade, and they have built upon their newfound success from last year. Despite being projected 8th in the conference, they have taken care of business. Carrying a young squad into this game, Wise players have combined for the 9th most sets played in the SAC, making them one of the most inexperienced teams in the conference. Their youth, though, has provided some firepower. The Cavaliers rank 8th in the conference in kills per set (11.76), but struggle to find the floor efficiently ranking 10th in the league in hitting percentage (.168). Their bright spot is their block. Wise averages 2.17 blocks a set, good for first place in the conference and 50th nationally.

UVA Wise's attack is led by Morgan Blankenship (2.49 kills per set), freshman Mia Poag (2.43 kills per set), and Mailea Hufnagel (2.36 kills per set). All three rank among the top 25 in the conference in kills per set. Abigail Curtis anchors the back row, landing 6th among conference defenders with 4.70 digs per set (64th in DII). Five Cavaliers rank in the top 25 in the SAC in blocks per set, and three are in the top 10. Mable James leads the league with 1.15 blocks per set, while Serina Petersen and Annabelle Dowell occupy 7th and 6th place, respectively.

The Highland Cavaliers are coming off a four set victory over Catawba on Friday. The Cavaliers tallied 10 service aces to help clinch the win. The five-seed is the highest for the program in the SAC Tournament is the second highest in the program's NCAA era. Blankenship led the Cavaliers' effort with eight kills, four service aces and contributed five blocks, adding to her 14.5 point tally in her final home appearance. On senior night. Riley Brandon supported with six kills and 15 assists, while also recording 10 digs. Abigail Curtis amassed 15 digs over the match. Dowell and James dominated on the front lines with 6 and 7 blocks (a career high for James). Hufnagel led the team with eleven kills, and also had five digs. The team had 26 block assists, a season high.

The Eagles enter this match on a five game winning streak and fresh off a four-set win against Newberry in the final match of the year. With the win, Carson-Newman grabs their 23rd win of 2025 and finishes the SAC regular season at 14-4. Carson-Newman has had their best season since the Eagles went 27-6 in 2022. Hurst was the kill leader on the floor with 22 kills and hitting a school record single game match high .677. She made just one error on 31 swings. The previous record was set earlier in the season by Dziczkowski. This is Hurst's fifth game in a row with 10 or more kills. Ahmuhs followed her with 17 kills and Dziczkowski notched 15. Trinity Hafey was the leader on defense by a long shot, with 22 digs that contributed to a team 62 digs mark. Raychel Ehlers was the other Eagle in double digit digs with 10. Cardello was a wall on the net that helped the defense with seven blocks while Blair Cherry contributed four blocks to help the Eagles to eight total. Cherry also dished out 52 assists, which was her fourth game this season with 50+ assists. Smith helped a C-N team to 11 total service aces with 7 herself.

This will be the Eagles 30th appearance in the SAC tournament in their 36 years of existence. Carson-Newman hasn't missed the postseason since 2016, but they haven't made it past the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament since 2022 when they beat Newberry in the quarterfinal and went on to beat Tusculum in the semifinals but lost in the championship to Wingate. No matter what happens in the tournament, C-N is ranked 4th in the region and should make the NCAA regional tournament no matter what happens in the SAC postseason. C-N hasn't even lost a SAC Quarterfinal match at home after 2009. The last time the Eagles won the SAC Title was back in 2019.

This is the 20th all-time meeting between the Highland Cavaliers and the Eagles. In the history of the series, UVA Wise has never beaten the Eagles, with C-N a perfect 19-0. The first matchup between these two teams dates back to November 8, 1975 where C-N won in two sets. Since that point, C-N has dominated the Cavaliers, sweeping Wise eleven times and never playing a five-set match. The Eagles own the set advantage 55-8. The first matchup between the two teams this season went to four sets at the Prior Convention Center and the penultimate match of the regular season between the two ended in a sweep.

It's been just 7 days since these two teams have faced each other. In the last match, five Eagles collected at least five kills while defense held firm to collect the season sweep of UVA Wise. Three Eagle hitters were in double digit kills for C-N. Maddie Hurst led the Eagle offense with 16 kills and a .577 hitting percentage to assist Carson-Newman in a .328 clip as a team. Annie Dziczkowski and Emerson Ahsmuhs firmed up the Eagles victory with 11 and 10 kills each, respectively. Blair Cherry ran the table expertly, handing out 41 assists to go along with a team leading 13 digs. The double-double is the 9th in 2025 for the junior setter and her 37th of her career. The reigning SAC offensive player of the week recorded a 13.67 assist per set mark in the win. Trinity Hafey matched Cherry on defense with 13 digs to go along with a service ace. Ehlers was as balanced as it gets for C-N, grabbing 8 kills, 7 digs, and 3 service aces.

For Wise, Riley Brandon and Mia Hufnagel both had 11 kills, while Maddie Pardue recorded a team-high 27 assists and added six digs. Poag made an impact from the service line with four aces, adding to her eight digs.

Coming off a 12-16 season, their best in nearly a decade, the Cavaliers were projected 8th in the SAC preseason poll. They made the SAC Quarterfinals last season where they lost to Wingate in three sets. With seven returning starters, third year head coach Alyssa Hanley added nine new players to the roster this season.

Wise's top returners and SAC players to watch include Abigail Curtis, Morgan Blankenship, and Riley Brandon. Curtis was among the top three liberos in the conference and top 50 in the nation in digs per set, averaging 5.00 a set. Brandon had 240 kills and 128 assists last season in addition to 134 digs and 51 total blocks. She also set a new school NCAA record with nine triple doubles. Blankenship did not see the floor in 2024, had 205 kills and 52 total blocks in her sophomore season in 2023.