Volleyball gets set to open at the Glenville State tournament
The Eagles will debut their season on Friday against Chowan in the first game, followed by West Virginia Wesleyan, and they wrap up their weekend with Bluefield State and the hosting Glenville State on Saturday.
It's been 290 days since Carson-Newman volleyball closed the door on the 2024-25 season with the loss in the SAC Quarterfinals against Mars Hill, and the Eagles are ready to take the floor for the first time in 2025-26 at the Glenville State Tournament in Glenville, West Virginia.
The Eagles will debut their season on Friday against Chowan in the first game, followed by West Virginia Wesleyan, and they wrap up their weekend with Bluefield State and the hosting Glenville State on Saturday.
Game 1, Chowan - After a 4-21 season, the Hawks return Diana Rodiguez who sits 2nd in all-time career digs, as well as ten sophomores returning to the court, including Anna Holcombe, who was second on the team in kills (133) and Jada Caruthers who held up the middle (92 K, 48 BLK). Projected 14th in the Conference Carolinas poll, Chowan brings major height to the floor with their hitters/middles sitting at an average height of 5-10 and their tallest player at 6-5.
Game 2, West Virginia Wesleyan - The Bobcats return after a 15-15 season where they were 5-10 in the MEC. Projected just above Glenville St. in the preseason poll at 4th in the South Division, they return their top two hitters who combined for over 500 kills last season (Bhrooke Axe and Emily Denison), plus their starting libero Alexis Moeschler who was 3rd in the MEC last year in digs/set (4.19). Despite the experience returning, the Bobcats lose their starting setter and add 14 freshmen to the roster. Common opponents from last year include Coker (W, 3-2), Wingate (L, 0-3), and Francis Marion (W, 3-2).
Game 3, Bluefield State - The Big Blue were 18-16 last year and 11-4 in CIAA play. While Bluefield was projected fifth in the preseason poll, they have a largely new look with a brand new head coach in Keyonna Morrow, two new freshmen, three DII transfers, and an NAIA transfer. The Big Blue return their all-conference setter Gabrielle Hale as well as Soniya Garner and Callesta Styles who combined for 267 kills. Styles also added 67 blocks. Bluefield State played a common opponent last season in Emory & Henry who they lost to in straight sets.
Game 4, Glenville State - The Pioneers were 3-25 in the 24-25 season and 1-14 in the Mountain East. Glenville St. is projected 5th in the South Division of the MEC, but returns their kills and blocks leader in Rita Kelly, assist leader Sadie Hill, starting libero Morgan Stephenson, and 2024 All-MEC Freshman Team selection Keleigh Chrisman. The Pioneers added 12 new faces to their roster over the offseason with five JUCO transfers, two DII transfers, and five promising freshmen. Last season, Glenville State faced one common opponent in Mars Hill who they lost to in straight sets.
It was a promising start and a disappointing finish for the Eagles in 2024-25. Heading into the final games of the season, C-N was a staggering 16-6 with a 12-1 conference record. With five losses in a row to end the year, including a three-set sweep from Mars Hill in the SAC Quarterfinals, the Eagles land 5th in the conference standings and 16-11 (12-6) on the year.
Despite the rocky finish, last season held significant promise for Carson-Newman in the years to come. At the USC Aiken tournament, the Eagles took #6 Missouri-St. Louis to a fifth set where they forced the Tritons into extra points, but ultimately dropped the match. The Eagles did much of the same to Wingate, who was receiving votes at the time. They swept [RV] Lenoir-Rhyne in late October but were struck with injuries toward the latter end of the season.
Carson-Newman was a stout offensive team last season, landing 2nd in the SAC standings in kills/set (13.14) and 42nd in the country in attacks/set (37.92). The team did a great job connecting with each other, ranking 2nd in the SAC and 39th in the nation in assists/set (12.39). While serviceable, the Eagles' defense was low ranking in comparison to the conference, landing 8th in digs/set (17.3) and 5th in blocks/set (2.01).
While the Eagles add seven new players to the roster in 2025-26, much of the production and veteran presence to the roster departed with the graduation of Bennet McCombs (libero), Blake Cherry (OH/DS), Taylor Adams(OH), Taylor Keeran (MB), and Kylee Oldenburger (OH).
On the attack, Cherry, Keeran, and Adams were heavy point producers for the Eagles, with each of them stringing together 100+ kill seasons in 2024. When you factor in Oldenburger, 41% of Carson-Newman's kills from last season are graduated. Those four players accounted for just under 700 points for the Eagles as well.
On the defensive side, the Eagles main missing piece will be McCombs, who accounted for 416 digs for the Eagles. If you add in 2024 senior McKenna Hall (OH), C-N graduated a total of 971 digs, that's 54% of total team digs. As for the block, 154 stuffs walked out the door for Carson-Newman, which accounts for 46% of the total blocks from last season.
While the Eagles return their starting front row from last season, the rest of the roster has had limited experience in NCAA action. In terms of sets played, Carson-Newman players land 7th in the SAC standings in experience. This standing factors in returning players and transfer students who have spent time on the hardwood on any NCAA team. This does not include NJCAA transfers or student-athletes that have played other NCAA sports (beach volleyball). The teams that fall below the Eagles in experience include Mars Hill, UVA-Wise, Tusculum, and LMU in that order.
School (Sets Played)
1. Lenoir-Rhyne (2006) 7. Carson-Newman (1069)
2. Wingate (1522) 8. Mars Hill (1047)
3. Newberry (1411) 9. UVA-Wise (1007)
4. Coker (1133) 10. Tusculum (667)
5. Catawba (1127) 11. Lincoln Memorial (472)
6. Emory & Henry (1118)
Carson-Newman is 7-3 in the last 10 home openers dating back to the 2015 season. This seems to correlate closely with Eagles success throughout the season, as Carson-Newman has only had two seasons in the last 10 years under .500. One of those below .500 seasons came in recent years (23-24). Despite the success, Eagles teams have been 2-2 in the last four season openers. The struggles early haven't seemed to sway them much, posting 14 or more wins in each of those seasons.
When the Eagles have opened the season with a tournament in the last ten years, they have struggled to get the season off on the right foot. The Eagles record in season opening tournaments going back to 2015 is just above .500 at 16-15. The Eagles have never started season with a four game tournament 4-0, and haven't held a better than .500 record in a four game tournament since 2021. The Eagles haven't started the season 4-0 since 2010.
Despite being regionally close, this is the first meeting between the Eagles of Carson-Newman and Chowan, West Virginia Wesleyan, and Bluefield State. Despite the unfamiliarity between the teams, in 2024 each team shared some common opponents with the Eagles.
Chowan: Loss v Newberry (0-3), LMU (0-3), Lander (0-3), Francis Marion (0-3 and 1-3)
West VA. Wesleyan: Won v Coker (3-2) and Francis Marion (3-2), Loss v Wingate (0-3)
Bluefield State: Loss v UVA-Wise (0-3), Emory & Henry (0-3)
Glenville State: Loss to Mars Hill (0-3)
Carson-Newman was 1-0 vs Newberry, 1-1 vs LMU , 0-1 vs Lander, 1-0 vs Francis Marion, 0-1 vs Coker, 0-1 vs Wingate, 2-0 vs UVA-Wise, 2-0 vs Emory & Henry and 1-2 vs Mars Hill.
Following the Glenville State Tournament, C-N will play their first SAC competition of 2025 when they face Virginia-Wise on Tuesday, September 9.
