ETSU readies for matches vs. Western Carolina & Furman

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 20, 2023) – The ETSU volleyball team will open its Southern Conference schedule this week with a pair of matches. ETSU kicks off SoCon play on Thursday when it travels to Western Carolina before returning to Johnson City to host Furman in the team's home opener on Saturday. 

MATCH INFORMATION

Thursday, Sept. 21 / ETSU at Western Carolina / 6 p.m. / Live Stats / ESPN+

Saturday, Sept. 23 / ETSU vs. Furman / 6 p.m. / Live Stats / ESPN+

ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU dropped a trio of matches in Kentucky last weekend. The Bucs fell to Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, and Ball State in three sets. With those results, the Bucs are now 0-11 on the 2023 season.
• The Bucs will play their first match of the season at Brooks Gym on Saturday. ETSU hopes to build upon the 10-1 mark that it put together on its home floor last season.
• Malgorzata Andersohn (Bydgoszcz, Poland) was named to the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic All-Tournament Team. Andersohn has been named to a pair of All-Tournament teams during the non-conference slate.   
• ETSU had a balanced attack in its last match vs. Ball State. Whitley Rammel (Ft. Recovery, Ohio) paced ETSU in that contest with a season-high 10 kills, while Brianna Cantrell (Appleton, Wis.) added nine kills and Jenna Forster (Maryville, Tenn.) chipped in eight. It was the third time this season and the second time in the last three matches that the Bucs have had three or more players with eight or more kills in a single match. 

ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA

• Western Carolina will bring a record of 3-8 into Thursday's match with the Bucs. WCU has wins this fall over UNC Asheville, North Carolina Central and Green Bay.
• A strength for the Catamounts this season has been their work up front. As a team, Western Carolina ranks second in the conference averaging 2.03 blocks per set.
• A player to watch for WCU is Ali Morris. Morris is not only the Catamounts' leader in kills with 113 but she also ranks second on the team with 114 digs.
• ETSU and Western Carolina have met 90 times over the years with ETSU holding the slight edge in the series, 48-42. Western Carolina has won the last three matches between these two programs and ETSU will be looking for its first win in Cullowhee since 2021. 

ABOUT FURMAN

• The Paladins are off to a hot start this season with a 9-2 record. Furman enters SoCon play riding a four-match winning streak.
• Furman has had a stellar defense this fall as it currently ranks 19^th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.149).
• The Paladin offense runs primarily through Ava Augustson and Mary Beth Headley. Both players are averaging better than three kills per set this season and rank fourth and fifth, respectively, among SoCon players in that category.
• The all-time series between Furman and ETSU is even at 34-34. The Bucs have won six of the last seven meetings but the Paladins eliminated ETSU from last season's SoCon Tournament for that victory.

UP NEXT

The Bucs will host a pair of conference matches next week at Brooks Gym. ETSU will host UNC Greensboro on Thursday and Chattanooga on Friday. Both of those matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball tab.