December 5, 2025

Volleyball’s season ends with NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal loss

After a first-set victory for C-N, Flagler’s offense powered through Carson-Newman’s tough serving to wrap up the Eagles’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years.

Flagler

22-12

Carson-Newman

24-6

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Flagler 22-12	15	25	25	25	3
Carson-Newman 24-6	25	14	13	22	1

VIDEO: Cat Collins, Emerson Ahmuhs, Paige Bussom Postgame Press Conference

WINGATE, N.C. – After a first-set victory for C-N, Flagler's offense powered through Carson-Newman's tough serving to wrap up the Eagles' first trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years.

The fourth-seeded Eagles were upended by the fifth-seeded Peach Belt Champions, Flagler, who heads into the regional semifinals for the second year in a row. With the loss, Carson-Newman finishes the 2025-26 season 24-7.

Both teams found the floor efficiently, each hitting above .250%, but the Flagler offense kept the Eagles out of system. C-N's defense dug out 48 balls in the four set match and allowed the Saints 62 kills in the Quarterfinal.

In set one, C-N fired at Flagler's defense and serve receive, and capitalized on a favorable amount of service errors from the Saints. C-N had their most accurate hitting percentage of the match in set one, finding 12 kills on a .450 attacking clip. Annie Dziczkowski threw two service aces at the Saints early, while Emerson Ahsmuhs landed five kills. Every single starter for the Eagles landed a kill in set one. C-N would take the first frame 25-15.

In set two, the Saints put the pressure on in the serve department. Amerila Fitzpatrick kicked off the 2^nd frame with a six-point run at the service line that would cause an Eagles timeout. Despite that, C-N got just one sideout before Flagler's Cassidy Bloom served up five that would send the Saints up 10-2. Katherin Rank tore up the Eagles' defense with 3 kills early, and the Eagles couldn't get back on the horse. The Flagler defense collected 18 digs in the 2^nd set, helped by four team blocks for a -.033 hitting percentage from the Eagles. They would drop set 2,14-25.

In set three, Bella Schwantz went on a five-point run from the line, and the Saints went up 9-3 with deafening kills from the Peach Belt tournament MVP Marley Middlebrooks. Flagler gave the Eagles little opportunity for in-system plays, finding 20 kills in the 3^rd set and hitting .474. Carson-Newman couldn't string together points and lost set three 13-25.

Flagler wanted to close the door in set four, but C-N fought back, up 10-7 off another ace from Dziczkowski. This was her 11^th game this season with multiple service aces in a game. The Saints also jumped on the service train, landing two service aces to climb back out to a 16-13 lead and cause a C-N timeout. Emerson Ahsmuhs stayed consistent, providing kills to keep the Eagles in the set, plus helping out in a big block effort. Ultimately, Flagler's heavy arms would find the 10 foot line on multiple occasions and close the match with a 22-25 score.

Emerson Ahsmuhs was one of two Eagles in double-digit kills with 12 and hit .281. She was backed by Raychel Ehlers who landed 10 of her own. Blair Cherry found a double-double with 31 assists to go along with a team-high 18 dig effort. Trinity Hafey was the other Eagle with 10 digs on the night.

Annie Dziczkowski was hard to handle from the service line with three aces while Maddie Hurst, Bella Cardello, and Ahmuhs each had at least three blocks.

Marley Middlebrooks tore through C-N's defense with 20 kills to go along with 9 digs. Katherine Rank also exploded for 13 kills. Clare Sheedy was excellent in navigating the front lines with 47 assists and 10 digs. Flagler will now go on to play Wingate in the Southeast Regional Semifinal.

Ahsmuhs hit 400 season kills in the match this afternoon. The sophomore continues to ear her stripes as an all-region selection, and has stamped her name in an elite club as one of three Eagles in the last 20 years to have 350 kills and digs.

Cat Collins also collected a few notable victories this season as head coach of the C-N Indoor Program. In just her second year at the head of the program, Collins guided the Eagles to their first SAC tournament victory in three years and took her first trip into the NCAA tournament. With five starters returning for Collins in 2026, C-N has a bright future.