JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct 31, 2024) – East Tennessee State University volleyball concludes its last weekend homestand against two of the top teams in the conference.

The Bucs (14-8, 6-4 SoCon) host Samford (12-8, 6-4 SoCon) at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1, and Mercer (18-4, 8-1 SoCon) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Freshman outside hitter Makayla Bays led the Bucs in their midweek win over Furman, tallying a career-high 15 kills. Junior opposite Isabelle Iosua added 11 kills, sophomore libero Melanie Morris set a career high with 24 digs in the sweep and senior middle blocker Abbey Thomas continued her balanced stretch, with a seven kill, five dig, three block, three ace and two assist performance.

Samford travels north after dropping a pair of matches over the weekend to Wofford and Chattanooga. The Bulldogs swept ETSU in the first meeting between the teams in Birmingham earlier this season.

Samford is led by Kaleigh Merritt, who has 272 kills on the campaign. Lexi Thatcher has 822 assists, Kate Morgan has 33 aces and 302 digs, and Kate Wonus has 60 blocks. The Bucs are 12-15 all-time vs the Bulldogs. Devine is 8-6, including a 2-2 mark at Brooks Gymnasium.

Mercer heads to Tennessee on a five match winning streak. The Bears lone conference loss was at Samford as Mercer heads into the back half of its conference slate alone in first place in the SoCon standings. In the earlier meeting between the squads this fall, ETSU took the first set in Macon, but Mercer won the match in four sets.

The Bears are led by Skye Ekes, who has totaled 305 kills this season. Brooke Phillips is second nationally with 57 aces, and also has 796 assists. MeMe Davis has 390 digs, and Skyler Bumpers has 63 blocks. ETSU has an all-time record of 27-12 against the Bears. Devine is 20-6 against Mercer, and is 11-2 at home.

Volleyball will sell tickets for matches during the 2024 season. Tickets for each match are $5 and can be purchased online at https://etsutickets.com/ or in person prior to the game. Group rate (10+) tickets are available for $3/ticket and ETSU students can attend for free.

The weekend slate will feature a pair of giveaways. Didn't get the candy you were hoping for on Halloween? Want to try one of the player's favorites? Come to the Friday match vs. Samford to receive candy upon admission. On Saturday, the first 50 students to arrive at Brooks Gym will receive free pizza provided by Johnny Brusco's, the official pizza sponsor of ETSU Athletics.

Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats can be found at the following links: Samford and Mercer. For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, follow @ETSUVolleyball on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.