Fourth-seeded Eagles set to take on five-seed Flagler in first round of the NCAA Regional
The NCAA Division II Volleyball selection committee has determined this year's NCAA tournament competition field, which lists C-N as the fourth seed in the Southeast Regional.
VIDEO: Carson-Newman Volleyball's reaction to NCAA Tournament selection
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The NCAA Division II Volleyball selection committee has determined this year's NCAA tournament competition field, which lists C-N as the fourth seed in the Southeast Regional.
Carson-Newman will be matched up with #5 Flagler in the first round of the regional.
The SAC Champions, Wingate, will be the first seed in the tournament and hold hosting rights for the Southeast regional. The first round of matches will be played on the 4th of December at Cuddy Arena in Wingate, N.C.
This is the Eagles' first trip to the NCAA postseason in three years. The last time the Eagles made it to the NCAA tournament, they slotted in as the third seed and played the sixth-seeded Flagler, whom they lost to in three sets.
C-N has made 18 appearances in the NCAA tournament throughout their history, but hasn't won a game in the postseason since 2019 when they took down Augusta and would go on to win the regional. The Eagles are 9-9 all-time in NCAA tournament games.
Carson-Newman has faced Flagler four times throughout history, and three of them have been at the NCAA tournament. The Eagles are 1-2 against the Saints in NCAA Tournament games. They have only met in the regional quarterfinals once, in 2022. C-N's lone win against Flagler was in the regional semifinals in 2019.
Cat Collins was a part of the 2022 team that went to the NCAA tournament as an assistant coach under Ashley Tiernan, but will be adventuring into her first postseason at the helm of CNVB.
This will also be the first NCAA tournament game for the majority of the roster. The only two players from the 2022 tournament team who remain are Paige Bussom and Grace Akard.
Flagler is one of three Peach Belt teams to qualify for the regional after earning the automatic bid through the capture of the Peach Belt Conference Title. The Saints beat Lander in five sets, and Marley Middlebrooks was named the tournament's MVP. The Saints are 21-12 overall.
The four SAC teams that topped the standings in their respective conference were the 1-4 seeds. Lenoir-Rhyne's five-set reverse sweep of Anderson lands them the two seed in the regional, and they will face the seventh-seeded Lander. Anderson is the three-seed in the regional and will take on #6 Augusta. The first-seeded Wingate will take on #8 Emmanual (GA).
Carson-Newman and Flagler take to the court in the first round of the NCAA tournament on December 4th in Wingate. You can find the full bracket here.
