JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 5, 2023) – The ETSU volleyball team will return to action this weekend with a pair of road matches at Mercer and Samford. ETSU will match up with Mercer on Friday before heading to Alabama to take on Samford on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve on ESPN+.
 
MATCH INFORMATION
Friday, Oct. 6 / ETSU at Mercer / 6 p.m. / Live Stats / ESPN+
Saturday, Oct. 7 / ETSU at Samford / 6 p.m. / Live Stats / ESPN+
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU played arguably its best matches of the season last week vs. UNC Greensboro and Chattanooga. The Bucs totaled a season-high 62 kills against Chattanooga and posted their top hitting percentage of the 2023 campaign in the win over UNC Greensboro (.215).
• Through four SoCon matches so far, the Bucs have shored up their defense by holding opposing teams to a hitting percentage of .176 in conference play. The .176 opponents' hitting percentage is tied for the third-lowest among SoCon foes trailing only Wofford (.123) and Furman (.161).
• Setter Malgorzata Andersohn has not only been a double-double machine (eight so far in 2023) but she also recently surpassed the 2,000-assist mark in her collegiate career. Currently, Andersohn is fifth among SoCon setters with 354 assists.
• Andersohn is not the only Buccaneer around statistical milestones. Libero Jasmal Cruz needs just 17 more digs to reach 1,500 digs in her collegiate career. Cruz has reached double digit digs in seven straight matches entering this weekend. 

ABOUT MERCER

• Mercer enters the month of October with an overall record of 6-9 that includes a 2-2 mark in SoCon play.
• A player to watch for the Bears is Kylee Quigley. Quigley not only leads Mercer in kills (160) but she has also racked up a team-high 23 aces.
• Skyler Bumpers has also had a good start to her season averaging 0.96 blocks per set and she ranks third in the SoCon with an attack percentage of .385.
• ETSU and Mercer have met a total of 36 times over the years. The Bucs hold the decisive advantage in the series with a 27-9 record against the Bears. ETSU swept the season series between these two teams in 2022 but before those matches, Mercer had beaten the Bucs four straight times. 

ABOUT SAMFORD

• Samford is currently 6-10 overall and 1-3 in league play.
• The Bulldogs currently has the SoCon's kill per set leader in Gracie Lynn Butler (4.76) leading their offense. Overall, Butler has 276 kills on the season, which ranks sixth in the nation.
• Collectively, Samford ranks third in the conference in both kills (720) and aces (96). Only The Citadel and Chattanooga sit ahead of the Bulldogs in those two statistical categories.
• The series between the Bucs and Bulldogs has been a competitive one with ETSU holding a slim lead, 12-11. The Bucs will look for their second straight win in Birmingham as they downed Samford there in three sets last fall.  

UP NEXT
After the matches with the Bears and Bulldogs this weekend, ETSU will return home to Brooks Gym next week to host Wofford (Friday @ 6 p.m.) and The Citadel (Saturday @ 8 p.m.).
 
For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball tab.