September 19, 2025

Volleyball drops first game of the season at home to L-R

It was a tough battle between the Bears and Eagles, who ultimately would lose in three sets at their home opener.

Lenoir-Rhyne

8-2,2-0 SAC

Carson-Newman

10-1,1-1 SAC

Final	1	2	3	T
Lenoir-Rhyne 8-2,2-0 SAC	25	25	25	3
Carson-Newman 10-1,1-1 SAC	21	18	22	0

Cat Collins Postgame Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – It was a tough battle between the Bears and Eagles, who ultimately would lose in three sets at their home opener.

It was a fairly matched fight inside of Holt Arena statistically. The Bears barely outpaced the Eagles in kills 38-35, out out-dug the Eagles 48-42, and went block for block with each other. Carson-Newman was plagued by errors, though. Their nine reception errors and 14 attacking mistakes gave the Bears free points in the loss.

"I think the streak played a little bit of a part of that," said head coach Cat Collins. "But losing games makes you question things. It makes you look a little bit deeper, which is good for us."

Carson-Newman was down early in set 1, 10-5, and a battle seemed unlikely. The Eagles were down 21-14 when they would benefit from two errors from the Bears to send Blair Cherry to the line. Despite a four-point run from the junior, the Eagles would drop set one 25-21.

Six errors from the Eagles would kill any momentum they would try to generate in set one. Despite that, the block showed up in set one, with Bella Cardello and Emerson Ahsmuhs grabbing two blocks each.

Set two was a closer fight, but the Eagles were down 7-13 in the early goings, which triggered a timeout from Cat Collins. It wouldn't do much, though, as Lenoir-Rhynes Emmaleigh Allen and Kayli Cleaver would combine for seven kills throughout the set. While Ahsmuhs and Ehlers would match them with five kills apiece, and three service aces from the Bears would end set two 25-18.

Carson-Newman came to fight in set three. They held the lead until the game became tied at 18. The Eagles would take a timeout, but two service aces in the last four points of the set would end the game in favor of Lenoir-Rhyne. The score of set three was 25-22, and the Bears swept the Eagles in their home opener.

Emerson Ahsmuhs was the only Eagle in double-digit kills with 14, and she also led the team in blocks with four. The conference leaders in serving showed up, with 9 service aces falling in favor of the Bears. Trinity Hafey was also a bright spot for Carson-Newman, with 13 digs and two service aces.

"Our outsides again did good. We had some good block touches. Defensively didn't really do what we wanted to do and what our plan was. And then our first contact and just our offense in general, other than a couple people here and there, wasn't us," Collins said.

Statistically, this was the worst Eagles defensive performance of the year, and the second worst blocking performance of the year.

"Didn't do a great job sticking to our scouting report and our game plan. That's on us, coaching staff, on myself. Just making sure that I find a better way to prepare the girls so that they feel more confident with the game plan," said Collins.

Carson-Newman volleyball returns to the floor on Tuesday when they take on Tusculum on the road.