Volleyball unveils challenging, road-heavy schedule for 2023
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman Volleyball and head coach Ashley Tiernan have announced the 2023 season schedule highlighted by nine home matches in the recently renovated home of the Eagles, Holt Fieldhouse.
VIDEO: Ashley Tiernan Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman Volleyball and head coach Ashley Tiernan have announced the 2023 season schedule highlighted by nine home matches in the recently renovated home of the Eagles, Holt Fieldhouse.
The Eagles, coming off an NCAA Southeast Regional appearance, will take on six teams who made postseason play in 2022.
"We're really excited about going into this season and the teams that we're going to play and the competition we're going to see" said Tiernan. "The roster that we have this year is really going to drive us to hopefully another championship year."
The schedule consists of 18 conference matchups as well as 11 non-conference competitions.
"We have a really strong field in our conference, every single one of our conference teams can show up and beat anybody at any time. We're just going to look forward to doing what we can on and off the court to be the best team that we can be and hopefully turn that into a lot of wins along the way."
The Eagles will begin their 29-match season on the road in Nashville, Tennessee at the Ray Thrasher Classic starting Sept. 1. The five-team event will include matches against Alabama Huntsville, Trevecca Nazarene, Bemidji State, and Missouri St. Louis, a five-seed in last year's Midwest Regional.
The following week the team will then make their way closer to home to face LMU on Sept. 5, marking the first game of conference play. Carson-Newman currently has a four-year winning streak against LMU.
In a quick turn-around, Carson-Newman will head to Aiken, S.C. where they will play at the USC Aiken Invitational on the 8 and 9. The two-day tournament will consist of matches against North Greenville, Augusta, and Belmont Abbey. The Jaguars made it to the round of 32 in last year's NCAA tournament.
After their trip to the Palmetto State, the Eagles will kick off their home schedule, dueling Emory & Henry on Sept. 12.
Remaining on home turf, the squad will then face Tusculum on Sept. 15. Carson-Newman volleyball defeated Tusculum in both regular season matchups last year 3-2 and 3-1.
Following their week at home, the girls head back to South Carolina to play Limestone on the 19. They will remain on the road for their matchup on the 20 against UVA-Wise.
The Eagles couldn't stay away from their nest for too long as they'll begin a three-game home streak playing Mars Hill on Sept. 29, LMU on Sept. 30, and Wingate on October 6. The Bulldogs made it all the way to the Elite Eight last season.
Carson-Newman will hit Greenville, Tenn. on Oct. 10 to take on Tusculum.
Following their few weeks in Tennessee, the team will journey back to USC Aiken on Oct 14 to compete against both Georgia College and USC Aiken. The Pacers represent the fourth NCAA tournament team that C-N will face this season.
Oct. 17 will mark the sixth home match of the season, with a contest against Newberry.
Back on the road again for a hectic few days, the Eagles face Lenoir-Ryhne on Oct. 20, then head to Finis Home Arena for a pair of non-conference matches against Augusta and Lander on Oct. 21. Both teams squared off against one another in last year's Southeast Regional.
Carson-Newman will stay on Mossy Creek territory in their matchup against Virginia Wise on Oct. 24 before traveling to Virginia to play Emory & Henry on Oct. 27. They then head to North Carolina for a match against Mars Hill on Oct. 31.
The senior Eagles will then be celebrated on home turf before play against Coker on Nov. 3. The Eagles will stay at home on Nov. 6 where they will face Limestone.
To wrap up regular season and conference play, the squad will hit the road to match up with Anderson, the sixth and final team on the schedule to make a regional last year, on Nov. 10.
To stay up-to-date with all of Carson-Newman athletics, head on over to cneagles.com or follow the Eagles on twitter at @cn_eagles.
