DALLAS, N.C. — The Tusculum University women’s beach volleyball team has been seeded second at this weekend’s (Apr. 11-12) South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championship, hosted by Gaston College in Dallas, North Carolina. The tournament will be conducted using a three-team pool play, single round-robin format.
Carson-Newman is the league’s top seed with a perfect 10-0 record in conference and headlines Pool A, which also features No. 4 seed Catawba and No. 5 seed Erskine. Tusculum is the No. 2 overall seed and tops the Pool B bracket, joined by No. 3 Emmanuel and No. 6 Wingate.
Tusculum is 8-10 (6-4 SACC) this season, sweeping this past weekend’s four conference matches to rally for the second seed in the tournament. The Pioneers have beaten Wingate and Erskine twice, also claiming a win over both Catawba and Emmanuel. TU fell in both meetings to Carson-Newman. In non-conference action, Tusculum downed McKendree and Lynchburg. On the year, TU has four pairs with at least eight wins together.
Hannah Marsh and Brynn Smith have been the primary top seed for the Pioneers this season, racking up a 9-7 record, including 7-3 in conference action. The pairing has taken down Wingate (twice), Erskine (twice), Lynchburg, Division I Austin Peay, Carson-Newman, Emmanuel, and Catawba for their wins.
Ryann Gallagher and Morgan Willis have competed in every match together, mainly at No. 3. The duo has an 8-10 (5-5 SACC) mark, defeating McKendree, Division I Morehead State, Emmanuel, Erskine (twice), Lynchburg, Catawba, and Wingate.
Listed as the fourth flight for the tournament, Kyla Oppenhuis and Landry Tea have dominated from the bottom of the lineup, going 9-4 (6-1 SACC) bouncing between the fourth and fifth slot. The teammates have wins over Erskine (twice), Lynchburg, Division I Austin Peay, Carson-Newman, Division I UT Martin, Emmanuel, Catawba, and Wingate.
Nyah Goss and Katie Murphy will be the No. 5 pair. Goss and Murphy have solidified their spot in the lineup, racking up an 8-3 (7-1 SACC) mark together between the last two flights in the order, including 4-1 at 5’s. The Pioneer duo have taken down Catawba (twice), Wingate (twice), Lynchburg, Carson-Newman, Emmanuel, and Erskine. Mia Johnson and Kassidy Mercado will fill the No. 2 slot for the Pioneers at the tournament.
2025 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championship
Friday, April 11, 2025
Match 1: #1 Carson-Newman vs. #5 Erskine, 9:30 AM (Pool A)
Match 2: #2 Tusculum vs. #6 Wingate, 11 AM (Pool B)
Match 3: #1 Carson-Newman vs. #4 Catawba, 12:30 PM (Pool A)
Match 4: #2 Tusculum vs. #3 Emmanuel, 2:30 PM (Pool B)
Match 5: #4 Catawba vs. #5 Erskine, 4 PM (Pool A)
Match 6: #3 Emmanuel vs. #6 Wingate, 5:30 PM (Pool B)
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Match 7: Pool A winner vs. Pool B second, 10 AM (semifinal #1)
Match 8: Pool B winner vs. Pool A second, 11:30 AM (semifinal #2)
Match 9: Semifinal #1 winner vs. Semifinal #2 winner, 1:30 PM (championship match)
