NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman junior running back Jayden Sullins put on a show on the ground this past Saturday as he rushed for an incredible 261 yards on 31 carries – averaging 8.4 yards per rush – to earn the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Football Offensive Player of the Week honor.
In the Eagles’ 28-17 victory over Barton, Sullins posted the seventh-most rushing yards in program history as he also scored a touchdown and had a 78-yard pick-up in the contest. He had eight rushes on the day that were for 10 or more yards.
On the defensive side, Vanderbilt linebacker Bryan Longwell helped lead the Commodores to a victory over top-ranked Alabama. The sophomore from Nashville posted a team-best eight tackles in the contest, which included a tackle-for-loss – the fifth-straight game with at least one TFL. This was the second time in as many Southeastern Conference games that Longwell led the team in tackles.
With the effort, Vanderbilt became the first team this season to hold Alabama under 100 rushing yards and a season-low in scoring.
VOLLEYBALL: Tennessee Tech junior setter Jordan Karlen fed a Golden Eagle offense that reached plateaus unseen by a Tech squad in more than a decade to earn her third Ohio Valley Conference accolade of the year and ninth of her career, averaging 12.88 assists and 3.13 digs over eight sets of action. The junior kicked off the week with 40 helpers in the team's 3-0 sweep of Western Illinois, adding one block and 12 digs to pick up a double-double.
She went off in the five-set thriller on Friday, tying for the fourth-most assists in a five-set match in the rally-scoring era in Tech history with an eye-popping 63. She also dropped in a career-high five service aces, earned her ninth double-double of the year with 13 digs, and chipped in three block assists. Tech accounted for 74 kills in the match, the most by the team since crushing 75 against Murray State in the OVC Tournament Championship match in 2008.
WOMEN’S SOCCER: Sewanee graduate goalkeeper Leah Atkins recorded a career-high 12 saves against No. 13 Emory in a 1-1 draw on the road. Emory took 25 shots in the contest with 13 on-goal, while the one goal allowed came off of a penalty kick in the 80th minute.
Atkins followed it up on Sunday as she collected her eighth shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory against Oglethorpe.
2024-25 TSWA College Players of the Week
FOOTBALL
9/3 | Offensive: Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt); Defensive: Bryan Longwell (Vanderbilt)
9/10 | Offensive: Sam Phillips (Chattanooga); Defensive: Elijah Herring (Memphis)
9/17 | Offensive: Dylan Sampson (Tennessee); Defensive: Alex Mitchell (Chattanooga)
9/24 | Offensive: La’Vell Wright (Austin Peay); Defensive: Major Williams (Carson-Newman)
10/1 | Offensive: Chase Artopoeus (Chattanooga); Defensive: Theron Gaines (Tennessee Tech)
10/8 | Offensive: Jayden Sullins (Carson-Newman); Defensive: Bryan Longwell (Vanderbilt)
VOLLEYBALL
9/3 | Maddie Isringhausen (Tennessee Tech)
9/10 | Blair Cherry (Carson-Newman)
9/17 | Jordan Karlen (Tennessee Tech)
9/24 | Reagan Jones (Fisk)
10/1 | Laure Jansen (Middle Tennessee)
10/7 | Jordan Karlen (Tennessee Tech)
MEN’S SOCCER
8/27 | Alex Clayton (Belmont)
9/3 | A.J. Chastonay (Belmont)
9/10 | Robbie Lyons (Cumberland)
9/17 | A.J. Chastonay (Belmont)
9/24 | Adan Gonzalez (Trevecca)
10/1 | Juan Carlos Rodriguez (Lipscomb)
WOMEN’S SOCCER
8/27 | Ai Kitagawa (Memphis)
9/3 | Neve Renwick (Tennessee Tech)
9/10 | Gabby Jones (Cumberland)
9/17 | Kiara Pralle (Lipscomb)
9/24 | Abi Brighton (Vanderbilt)
10/1 | Ashlyn Richards (Sewanee)
10/7 | Leah Atkins (Sewanee)