Eagles on the road again for the USC Aiken Invitational
September 7, 2023

Eagles on the road again for the USC Aiken Invitational

After winning their first conference match on Tuesday against Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman will face two teams from the Peach Belt Conference and two teams from Conference Carolina’s this Friday and Saturday. 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - After winning their first conference match on Tuesday against Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman will face two teams from the Peach Belt Conference and two teams from Conference Carolina's this Friday and Saturday. 

The highlight of their victory over Lincoln Memorial was Julia Wheeler notching her 1,000th career kill as an Eagle. Wheeler averages 4.38 kills per set and  504 last season alone, second most in school history.

This Friday the Eagles wil head to Aiken, S.C to compete in the USC Aiken Invitational tournament. Four matches are scheduled over the two-day event. 

Game 1 vs. North Greenville:  

Carson-Newman and NGU have only met twice in program history, once in 2008 and 2013. The Eagles currently hold a 2-0 victory over the Crusaders. 

North Greenville is 3-0 in 2023 so far after a weekend tournament in Ettrick, VA. last weekend. They competed against Virginia State, Limestone, and Chowan University, concluding every match in a sweep of their opponents. The Crusaders outscored all three of their contenders in service aces, assists, and in kills.

Abigail Durham, who was named Conference Carolina's offensive player of the year in 2022, led the team in kills, with a weekend high of 16 against Limestone. Ashlyn Conner led in assists with 61 total over 9 sets played. Samanth Ball record the team weekend high of 19 digs against Limestone on day two of competition. UNG averaged 17.4 digs per set as a team,  12.1 kills per set, and only 1.1 errors per set. 

Last season, North Greenville went 21-11 overall and made it to the semifinals of their conference tournament. 

Game 2 vs. Augusta: 

C-N Lost to Augusta in 2022, ending a 7 match winning streak leading back to 2015. Augusta took the game 3-1 last October in Holt Fieldhouse at the SAC/Peachbelt Crossover. 

Augusta is 1-3 on their season so far, losing to Wingate, Emmanuel, and Embry-Riddle last weekend. Their most highly contested match against SAC's Wingate went to five, Augusta dropping the last three sets in a row to the Bulldogs. 

Jasmyn Wheeler carried the offensive unit, collecting a high of 25 kills against Embry-Riddle and 2 double-doubles on the weekend. Last season she was honored with the PBC player of the year accolade and named an AVCA all-American.There's just something about the last name Wheeler. 

The Jaguars endured their season all the way to the second round of the NCAA tournament, concluding with a 25-8 overall record. 

Game 3 vs. Belmont Abbey: 

The Eagles and the Crusaders have not competed with one another since 2018 when C-N took the victory 3-1. Carson-Newman has not yet been defeated by Belmont Abbey in any of their three encounters. 

Belmont Abbey holds an 0-4 record this season to date, losing in sweeping fashion to all of their opponents at the Newberry College Invitational. 

The Crusaders concluded their 2022 season with 6-26 overall record, 3-14 in their conference. 

Game 4 vs. USC Aiken: 

This Saturday, Sept. 9 marks the 18th meeting between the Eagles and the Pacers. C-N leads 3-1 in Ashley Tiernan era, however was swept in last year's matchup. 

The Pacers are 2-1 in 2023 after a pre-season tournament in Hickory, N.C, finding their one loss to Lenoir-Rhyne. The match against Lenoir-Rhyne went to five sets, with sets two, three, and five going to the Bears. Sadie Mckay led USC Aiken in kills, recording 15 against Lenoir-Rhyne and 33 for the weekend. Kari Mercer piloted the defensive force with an average of 5.92 per set. 

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