AIKEN, S.C. – Carson-Newman splits matches with Montevallo and No. 25 Augusta at the USC Aiken Invite as Blair Cherry celebrates her 1,000^th career assist.

It was a day to note for sophomore setter Blair Cherry, who came into Saturday morning's match with Montevallo sitting at 997 career assists. Early in the first set, Cherry set a perfect ball for Maddie Hurst, who finished the job with a swing and a kill, surpassing the career mark. She has reached the milestone as just a sophomore in 37 career matches. After adding 80 assists on the day, her career mark now stands at 1,077 assists in 38 matches, an average of 28.34 assists per match.

Other standout performances include Bennett McCombs's 16 digs against Montevallo, Trinity Hafey's 16 dig performance against Augusta, and Emerson Ahsmuhs holding a share of the team lead in kills for both matches.

The Eagles (5-3, 1-0 SAC) took their first match over Montevallo in five sets before falling in the nightcap in straight sets to No. 25 Augusta.

Montevallo – After celebrating Blair Cherry's milestone, it was time to get to work for Cat Collins' crew. But after three Falcon service aces and 11 attacking errors from the Eagles, Montevallo found itself in front, taking the first set 25-18.

The Eagles battled back, dominating the following two sets: 25-14 and 25-10. Carson-Newman played some of its best offensive volleyball in the middle frames, hitting .417 and .611 in the second and third sets.

Montevallo wouldn't go away quietly, taking a 23-16 lead in the fourth set, on the verge of forcing Carson-Newman to its second five-set match of the weekend. But Carson-Newman battled back, going on a 9-1 run to tie the set at 24. The Falcons and Eagles went back and forth, but Montevallo ended the set on top, surpassing 30 points in the set to win 31-29.

Carson-Newman got back into gear in the final frame hitting .438 to take the set 15-9 and win the match in five sets.

Four Eagles recorded double-digit kills, while Blair Cherry recorded yet another 50-assist match. Carson-Newman recorded ten total blocks, with Maddie Hurst contributing six of them.

1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣ ASSISTS FOR @blaircherry6!

Congratulations to the sophomore setter who passed the milestone during this morning's match against Montevallo!@CarsonNewmanVB x #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/hycEsJOa1G

— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 14, 2024

No. 25 Augusta – Facing its second ranked opponent of the season, Carson-Newman battled after three exhaustive matches the previous two days of the tournament eventually falling to the nationally-ranked Jaguars in straight sets.

The match was the first three-set match the Eagles had been a part of this season.

Augusta took an early lead in the first set, holding off small C-N runs to take the first set 25-20.

Carson-Newman battled in the second set, eventually tying the match at 24, forcing the set to go over 25 points for the second time on Saturday after doing so that afternoon against Montevallo. However, just like the match with the Falcons, the Jaguars took the set from the Eagles, 27-25. Maddie Hurst and Emerson Ahsmuhs highlighted the set combining for 11 kills.

The third frame saw the Jaguars setting out to finish the job. Forcing Carson-Newman to a set hitting percentage of .081, Augusta dominated the third set taking it, 25-17, and the match in straight sets. Carson-Newman had only played in matches of four sets or longer in its first seven matches to start the season.

Carson-Newman will head to South Atlantic Conference play on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. when it will take on Emory & Henry. The match will be streamed live on FloSports ($). You can keep up from home by following @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram or Carson-Newman Athletics on Facebook.