October 6, 2025

Eagles seek to upend the Railsplitters in their home gymnasium for the first time since 2023.

Carson-Newman is coming off their third loss of the season to Anderson. All three losses for the Eagles have been against SAC opponents, and will look to tip their SAC record scales above .500 with a midweek matchup against Lincoln-Memorial.

Carson-Newman

13-3,4-3 SAC

Lincoln Memorial

7-10,3-5 SAC

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Carson-Newman 13-3,4-3 SAC	25	25	16	25	3
Lincoln Memorial 7-10,3-5 SAC	23	23	25	17	1

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman is coming off their third loss of the season to Anderson. All three losses for the Eagles have been against SAC opponents, and will look to tip their SAC record scales above .500 with a midweek matchup against Lincoln-Memorial.

Carson-Newman had built a lead in sets two and three, but Anderson tightened up to close the door and drop the Eagles to 3-3 in the conference. The Eagles had their lowest hitting percentage of the season. With 20 errors and 28 kills, the Eagles were landing their swings at a .079 clip. The block was a major bright spot for C-N, who notched nine team blocks, led by Bella Cardello with 5. Raychel Ehlers led the defense with eight digs while Maddie Hurst was the Eagles' best attacker, firing seven kills.

Coach Collins said, "We want to focus more on our chemistry and using difficulties to grow into the team we want to be. That starts with our staff and instilling confidence into our athletes and women that God has called and created them to be."

Carson-Newman has had an incredibly good start to the season. With a 12-3 overall record, the Eagles' only three losses of the year have come to teams projected ahead of them in the conference preseason poll (Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate, and Anderson). This next contest against LMU will continue to test of how accurate the SAC preseason poll was. We have also now entered the second half of the season for C-N; with 27 games in the regular season, Carson-Newman visits Anderson for the 16th match of the year.

Last season, the Lady Railsplitters picked up the pace toward the tail end of 2024 to go 11-7 in the conference. This was enough to slot them into the SAC tournament, where they lost in the first round to Anderson in four sets. The Lady Railsplitter finished first in the SAC in service aces per set, averaging 1.93 per set, led by Lauren Pickett, who was fourth among conference competition (.36 service aces per set). Despite an attack that finished middle of the pack in terms of kills per set (12.28 kills per set, 5th in the SAC), Kristen Moehring led the SAC in kills per set with 3.79. It was a similar story on the blocking front. Lincoln Memorial had the 10th-best block in the conference (1.82 per set), but Agata Bogdanska was exceptional at the net. The senior ranked third in the conference with 1.10 blocks per set and was in the top 10 in hitting percentage (.306).

Despite the loss of Moehring and Bogdanska, the Railsplitters return starting setter Lauren Pickett and libero Lauren Jacob for the next season. Pickett finished third in the conference in assists per set (9.77) while Jacob was 7th among SAC competition in digs per set (4.37).

The Lady Railsplitters enter 2025 coming off a 17–9 overall record in 2024, their best season since 2019. They were selected fifth in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, a four-spot improvement from the year before, and had three players recognized on the SAC Players to Watch List: junior setter Lauren Pickett, sophomore libero Lauren Jacob, and redshirt sophomore setter Carley Raleigh.

Currently, LMU is 7-9 on the season and 3-4 in the conference, coming off a loss to Catawba in Salisbury. They have also suffered losses to Mars Hill, Wingate, and Coker. The Railsplitters currently hold down the seventh spot in the conference standings behind Tusculum. LMU will be looking to snap a three game losing streak.

LMU ranks 6th in the conference in team aces per set (1.75) and is averaging 11.83 kills per set, good for 8th in the SAC. Pickett and Jacob are both top 10 in the SAC in terms of aces per set, grabbing 0.45 and 0.40 aces per set, respectively. Kaytlin Johnson has emerged as the best attacker for the Railsplitters in the absence of Moehring and Bogdanska. The freshman is 4th among SAC competitors with 3.29 kills per set, while both Carley Raleigh and Pickett have been taking on setting duties. Both are among the top 10 in the conference in total assists, and Raleigh in 9th in the SAC with 5.68 assists per set.

The defense is also middle of the pack. With 16.32 digs per set, the Railsplitters rank 75th nationally and 8th conference-wise. Now with a year of college volleyball under her belt, Jacob is second in the SAC and 26th nationally in digs per set (5.06). The block is held down by Sarah Robbins who is 13th in the SAC with 0.73 blocks per set to lead an LMU block that is bottom of the conference. The Railsplitters are currently bottom of the conference standings in opponent hitting percentage as well, letting opposition find the hardwood at a .204 clip. They are the only team in the conference allowing opponents to hit above .200.

The series between the Railsplitters and Eagles dates back 36 years to October 10,1989 where LMU won the first all-time meeting in Jefferson City. Since then, the Railsplitters have retained their lead in the 69 all-time meetings; LMU holds the series 40-29.

Carson-Newman has dominated in recent history though. The Eagles have won nine of the last ten matchups between the two teams. The one blemish to that record in the last ten matchups came in the last meeting between these two teams when C-N visited LMU in Harrogate last October. It has been 363 days since these teams last met and LMU took down the Eagles in four sets.

The last loss for the Eagles was the first conference defeat in 2024, and were the first team in seven matches that hit over .100 against the Eagles. Maddie Hurst (Blaine, Tenn.) led the charge for Carson-Newman with ten kills as Blair Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.) notched a double-double for the second straight match with 39 assists and 18 digs in the losing effort. Both Emerson Ahsmuhs and Taylor Keeran slammed home 9 kills while four different Eagles notched 10 or more digs. Cherry, Trinity Hafey, Bennett McCombs and Blake Cherry were stout on defense for C-N while the team put together seven total blocks, but the Railsplitters cracked the code. Lauren Pickett was throwing dimes to her hitters with 41 assists and allowed Kristen Moehring to gather 20 kills while Abigail Kesler notched 12. LMU matched the Eagles with seven blocks and Lauren Jacob dug out 19 shots for the Railsplitters.

The Eagles will be looking for their first win in Harrogate since 2023. LMU is typically good at home against the Eagles with a 21-13 record in the series. LMU fans will be decked out in camo to support their home team, and LMU has not lost at home yet this season. Carson-Newman will seek to hand LMU their first home loss since October 5, 2024, when Lenoir-Rhyne beat the Railsplitters in four sets.