November 20, 2025

Eagles determined ahead of SAC semifinal match with #15 Wingate

The Eagles enter the SAC Semifinals on a six-game win streak. This is the first appearance by Carson-Newman in Rock Hill since 2022, where they beat Tusculum to advance to the championship. C-N has not won a SAC Title since 2019.

Carson-Newman

24-5,14-4 SAC

#15 Wingate

26-1,18-0 SAC

Final	1	2	3	T
Carson-Newman 24-5,14-4 SAC	14	21	15	0
#15 Wingate 26-1,18-0 SAC	25	25	25	3

VIDEO: Cat Collins Previews the SAC Tournament

VIDEO: Maddie Hurst on the SAC Tournament and All-Conference

VIDEO: Emerson Ahsmuhs on the SAC Tournament and All-Conference

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Eagles enter the SAC Semifinals on a six-game win streak. This is the first appearance by Carson-Newman in Rock Hill since 2022, where they beat Tusculum to advance to the championship. C-N has not won a SAC Title since 2019.

In the quarterfinal match against Wise, the Eagles used every weapon to collect their first SAC tournament victory in three years. This is Carson-Newman's 24th win in 2025 and helps them to six in a row. 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. With her 25th 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.

The Wingate Bulldogs have built an empire on SAC volleyball. Wingate has appeared in the SAC Championship seven of the last ten years and has qualified for the NCAA regional each year of the previous decade. Wingate has won 19 of the last 20 regular-season SAC titles, adding 14 tournament championships in that span. Wingate has ranked in the top 10 in the nation in winning percentage every year since 2007.

Ranked #15 in the nation coming into Friday and 1st in the SAC Preseason Poll for the 20th consecutive season, the Bulldogs secured the regular season title and are the one seed in the tournament. They have won 25 straight coming into this game, and the only team the Bulldogs have lost to thus far was in their second game of the season to Lewis in four sets. The Bulldogs are incredibly well-rounded, rank top 10 in DII in six different categories, and lead the SAC in six. The mark that stands out is their digs per set. The Bulldogs' defense is grabbing 19.52 digs per set, which is 5th nationally. They are also putting down 14.82 kills per set, slotting them 4th nationally.

Wingate carries a roster full of experience, including seven All-SAC award winners. Two-time SAC Player of the Year and 2024 Region Player of the Year Sydney Moreland is second in the SAC in k/s (3.47), blocks per set (1.01), and leads the league in hitting percentage (.424) which is also 5th nationally. They also carry Maya Van Heyst, who was an All-SAC, All-Region, and All-American during the 2024 season and first-team selection in 2025. Van Heyst does it all for the Bulldogs, leading the conference and slotting 17th nationally in assists per set (10.80) and ranking 9th in the SAC in aces per set. Gabby Saye and Emily Johnson were both All-Americans in 2024, with Johnson on the first team in 2025 and Saye on the second team. Saye and Johnson are 4th and 3rd in the conference in hitting percentage, respectively. Maddie Hoffman was a first-team SAC honoree in 2025 as well. The senior currently ranks 22nd in the nation and 2nd in the conference in digs per set (5.26). Rylee Tanner was selected to the All-freshman team.

Earlier this season, the Bulldogs swept the Eagles inside Holt Fieldhouse, grabbing the lead late in set one and never taking their foot off the gas to stay undefeated in the SAC and drop C-N to 2-2 in conference play.

It's been 20 days since these teams last played each other. In the most recent match at Wingate, Carson-Newman saw its six-match winning streak snapped in a sweep. The Eagles were held to a season-low .051 hitting percentage, and surrendered a season-high 12 service aces, tied for the most this season by the Bulldogs. Carson-Newman totaled 26 kills with a .051 hitting percentage. Offensively, Hurst led the way with nine kills, as Ahsmuhs racked up a team-high 11 digs. Meanwhile, Maya Van Heyst orchestrated the Wingate offense to 39 kills on a .269 clip with 30 assists. Maddie Hoffman had the hot hand from the service line with a career-best seven aces, and Emily Johnson paced the Bulldogs offensively with nine kills.

Just about everyone in the SAC has had issues with Wingate in the conference's history. This matchup between the Eagles and Bulldogs will be the 76th all-time. The 'Dogs have a healthy handle on this series with a 58-16 lead and have won seven straight. The previous time Carson-Newman beat the Bulldogs was in 2019 in the SAC Championship game.

In the last ten matchups between the two teams, Carson-Newman has only won two games. The battles between these teams have ended matches that took more than three sets to settle 39 times, but also include 35 sweeps. The Eagles' first matchup against the Bulldogs was back in 1992, where they took the victory in four sets.

Holt Fieldhouse hasn't necessarily been an advantage for the C-N. The Eagles have only won one time in their home gymnasium dating back to 2009. The last time the Eagles won on the road was nearly 11 years ago to the day, when C-N took a five-set victory over Wingate on the first day of November in 2014. C-N is 1-6 in neutral site matches dating back to 2009. If Carson-Newman came out with the victory, this would be just the 9th loss that the 2025 SAC Coach of the Year Lauren Tecavec would add to her record in the three seasons she has been head coach. The last time Wingate saw the Eagles in the postseason, the 'Dogs beat Carson-Newman in three sets for the SAC Championship.

This is the Eagles' 30th appearance in the SAC tournament in their 36 years of existence. Carson-Newman hasn't missed the postseason since 2016, but they haven't made it past the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament since 2022, when they beat Newberry in the quarterfinal and went on to beat Tusculum in the semifinals. They then lost in the championship to Wingate. No matter what happens in the tournament, C-N is ranked 4th in the region and should make the NCAA regional tournament despite a loss in the SAC postseason. C-N hasn't lost a SAC Quarterfinal match at home since 2009. The last time the Eagles won the SAC Title was back in 2019.

The Eagles should be carrying some good vibes into the weekend as well, with four deserving players garnering all-conference awards. C-N hasn't had more than four honorees on the list since the 2022 season and hasn't had multiple first-team selections since 2015. Emerson Ahsmuhs and Maddie Hurst both collected first-team recognition. This is the second time in their two seasons at Carson-Newman that they have achieved postseason recognition. Ahsmuhs made the jump from the second to the first team this season, while Hurst held her ground as the reigning freshman of the year. This is Hurst's second first-team recognition. Blair Cherry got her second All-SAC honor and earned a spot on the second team for the second year in a row. Annie Dziczkowski was the final honoree for C-N. Dziczkowski has had a breakout season this year and picked up third-team recognition for her efforts.

Carson-Newman and Wingate will see first serve at 4:30 at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center on November 21st. Coverage is available on FloSports, the Eagles Sports Network, and results can be found on our social media @cn_eagles.