Wise comes to Mossy Creek for start of final regular season week for volleyball
Carson-Newman volleyball enters the week on a three-game winning streak looking to wrap up the regular season in style.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman volleyball enters the week on a three-game winning streak looking to wrap up the regular season in style.
The Cavaliers are 13-13 on the season overall with a 7-9 conference record. They currently sit just behind Carson-Newman in the SAC standings for 5th place. This game against C-N is the final road game of the season for Wise, who has struggled in opposing gyms this season. On the road, UVA Wise holds a 2-8 record, while their home court advantage has boosted them to 9-4. Three teams sit below the Cavaliers tied at 6-10, so a chance for an opportunity for a four-way tie for fifth place does exist after Tuesday. They will wrap up their season with Catawba on Friday.
Wise has built upon their newfound success from last year and carries a young squad into this match. Coming into the least, Wise pliers had combined for the 9th most sets played in the SAC, making them one of the most inexperienced teams in the conference. Their youth, though, has provided some firepower. The Cavaliers rank 8th in the conference in kills per set (11.76), but struggle to find the floor efficiently ranking 11th in the league in hitting percentage (.150). Their bright spot is their block. Wise averages 2.14 blocks a set, good for first place in the conference and 52nd nationally.
UVA Wise's attack is led by Morgan Blankenship (2.58 kills per set), freshman Mia Poag (2.51 kills per set), and Mailea Hufnagel (2.24 kills per set). Blankenship and Poag both rank among the top 25 in the conference in kills per set. Abigail Curtis anchors the back row, landing 6th among conference defenders with 4.75 digs per set (58th in DII). Five Cavaliers rank in the top 25 in the SAC in blocks per set, and three are in the top 10. Mable James leads the league with 1.13 blocks per set, while Serina Petersen and Annabelle Dowell occupy 5th and 7th place, respectively.
The Highland Cavaliers are coming off a four set loss to the Newberry Wolves in Newberry last Friday. Despite the loss, Abigail Curtis anchored the defense with 22 digs, pushing her to fifth in the career digs category with 1,221. Riley Brandon facilitated the offense by dishing out 21 assists and adding nine digs and two service aces. Hufnagel led the attack with 13 kills on 30 attempts, achieving a .400 hitting percentage.
The Eagles enter this match on a three game winning streak and fresh off a four-set win against Mars Hill. This was the final road match for Carson-Newman and the Eagles wrap up an incredible away slate that includes just two losses. It was a full defensive effort from the Eagles, who logged a season high 97 team digs. Emerson Ahsmuhs logged the double-double in the match with a team high 18 kills and 22 digs. She was one of three Eagles who notched 20 or more digs on the night for her 13th double-double of 2025. Trinity Hafey was the Eagles leader in digs with 24. The junior captain's season high in digs comes against a Mars Hill team that she had racked up 21 digs on in the previous meeting earlier in the season for 45 digs across the two matches. Raychel Ehlers matched Ahsmuhs with 22 digs to her name for her career high. Hurst and Dziczkowski were in double-digits in terms of kills with Hurst collecting 10 while Dziczkowski recorded 11.
This is the 19th all-time meeting between the Highland Cavaliers and the Eagles. In the history of the series, UVA Wise has never beaten the Eagles, with C-N a perfect 18-0. The first matchup between these two teams dates back to November 8, 1975 where C-N won in two sets. Since that point, C-N has dominated the Cavaliers, sweeping Wise ten times and never playing a five-set match. The Eagles own the set advantage 52-8. The last two matches between the Cavaliers and Eagles have both gone to four sets.
It's been 63 days since these two teams have faced each other, as UVA Wise was C-N's first SAC match of the season. Carson-Newman beat the Cavaliers 3-1 guided by sophomore Emerson Ahsmuhs, who notched the third double-double of the 2025-26 season with a 18 kills and 16 digs. Her 18 slams were team leading, and she tacked on three blocks and an ace to account for 21.5 points. With 23 digs on the night, Hafey landed a new season high, just 6 digs off her career high. Cherry dished 32 assists to go along with 13 digs for her 31st career double-double, and Smith snatched 17 digs in the contest. Both Dziczkowski and Hurst chipped in 9 kills while Cardello bested a career high with seven total blocks.
For Wise, Piper Suddeth led the UVA Wise offensive efforts with 38 assists and thirteen digs. Abigail Curtis anchored the defense by collecting 25 digs. Serina Petersen contributed defensively with six total blocks, including three solo. Mia Poag delivered a strong performance with 16 kills and 17 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Coming off a 12-16 season, their best in nearly a decade, the Cavaliers were projected 8th in the SAC preseason poll. They made the SAC Quarterfinals last season where they lost to Wingate in three sets. With seven returning starters, third year head coach Alyssa Hanley added nine new players to the roster this season.
Wise's top returners and SAC players to watch include Abigail Curtis, Morgan Blankenship, and Riley Brandon. Curtis was among the top three liberos in the conference and top 50 in the nation in digs per set, averaging 5.00 a set. Brandon had 240 kills and 128 assists last season in addition to 134 digs and 51 total blocks. She also set a new school NCAA record with nine triple doubles. Blankenship did not see the floor in 2024, had 205 kills and 52 total blocks in her sophomore season in 2023.
Carson-Newman and UVA Wise first serve is scheduled for 7:00 PM in Holt Fieldhouse and live feed of the game is available on both FloSports and cneagles.com/livestats
Team Stats
Virginia-Wise
| Game Statistics | Virginia-Wise | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .229 | .328 |
| Blocks | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Digs | 42 | 53 |
| Aces | 7 | 6 |
