November 19, 2025

Cat Collins and Eagles Volleyball earn first trip to Rock Hill since 2022 with SAC Quarterfinal victory

The Eagles used every weapon to collect their first SAC tournament victory in three years and travel to the tournament site on Friday against #15 Wingate.

Virginia-Wise

14-15

Carson-Newman

24-4

Final	1	2	3	T
Virginia-Wise 14-15	20	16	19	0
Carson-Newman 24-4	25	25	25	3

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Cat Collins Interview

VIDEO: Raychel Ehlers Interview

VIDEO: Emerson Ahsmuhs Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Eagles used every weapon to collect their first SAC tournament victory in three years and travel to the tournament site on Friday against #15 Wingate.

This is Carson-Newman's 24^th win in 2025 and helps them to six in a row. The Eagles took the game in three sets against the Cavaliers and completed a 3-0 season against Wise. The game was highlighted by Carson-Newman's defense, which held Wise to single-digit kills in each of the last two sets.

"They put in a lot of work and we talked about just being the best us and we did great at that today," said Cat Collins following the victory. In her second year, this was Collin's first postseason win as head coach. "A lot of work goes into it. We have a great staff. I have great assistants behind me and then Kelsey our great athletic trainer, too. So they make my job very easy, and I'm proud that they also get to experience this too."

In set one, the Eagles' offense was hot and ready. C-N was up 7-3 in the early goings, but Wise would fight back to bring it within two at 13-11. From there, Emerson Ahsmuhs took over. The sophomore put up six kills in the first set, and was complemented with five from Maddie Hurst. With 16 assists, Blair Cherry kept the Wise defense guessing, as six players for the Eagles would land kills. A .333 hitting percentage would carry the Eagles to a 25-20 set one victory.

In set two, C-N put their foot down, jumping out to a 7-0 lead following a run at the service line from Trinity Hafey that included an ace, plus two kills from Annie Dziczkowski. Raychel Ehlers would extend that lead with two aces of her own that sent C-N to an 11-2 lead, which triggered Wise's timeout. Hurst and Ehlers played tic-tac-toe off of each other, exchanging kills to help the Eagles stay in the lead the entire way through set two. C-N would take the second frame 25-16 and limit the Wise offense to just seven kills. The only momentum Wise stole from the Eagles was four good blocks.

However, Carson-Newman didn't want Wise to have too much credit and responded with some blocks of their own. C-N was up 7-5 in the final frame before Ehlers decided enough was enough. She and Emma Morris combined for two big blocks that triggered a Wise timeout. When it seemed like it was over after an Eagles service error, Ehlers and Hurst combined for two more deafening blocks that put C-N up 12-6. From there, Ahsmuhs, Hurst, and Ehlers found a comfortable rotation to put the game away. The effort in the third was aided by Trinity Hafey, who had 7 digs in the third set to limit Wise to their lowest attacking percentage of the match with a .029 hitting percentage. The Eagles took set three 25-19 and the 3-0 sweep.

Three Eagles were in double-digit kills at the end of the match, led by Maddie Hurst and Emerson Ahsmuhs with 13 each. They have now each had at least three games in a row with double-digit kills. Raychel Ehlers was the other player with two-digit slams. The graduate student had 11 kills to go along with 10 digs, grabbing her second double-double of the season. She also tacked on a career-high four blocks in the third set alone to account for 15 of C-N's points in the match.

Trinity Hafey anchored the defense with 13 digs and helped limit Wise to a .160 hitting percentage throughout the match. Emmaline Morris and Hurst added multiple blocks to contribute to a strong finish for C-N.

Aside from the three hitters in double-digits, Blair Cherry distributed the ball well, finding Annie Dziczkowski nine times and two other Eagles for 43 total assists. With her 25 assist in the contest, Cherry landed her second straight season with 1,000 assists. The junior setter is one of four Eagles to ever accomplish the feat. She has been breaking records all season long, becoming one of six Eagles to have 2000 career assists and currently sits top five in assists all-time at C-N. Cherry was also one of three C-N players with multiple service aces. Cherry, Hafey, and Ehlers all had two aces.

C-N will head to Rock Hill for the SAC semifinals to take on #15 Wingate at 4:30 on November 21^st. The Bulldogs are the #1 team in the region, and beat C-N in sweeps both times during the regular season.

"We're definitely excited. We obviously have a big task ahead of us, but we're definitely up for the challenge and we would rather be the underdogs. I'm excited for us," said Collins.

On the other side of the bracket, the three-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne will take on the two-seeded Anderson.

Coverage for the SAC Semifinals will be available on FloSports and results from the tournament can be found at cneagles.com or on our social media @cn_eagles.