Johnson City, Tenn. (Aug. 29, 2024)  –  East Tennessee State University will open the 2024 regular season at the Wildcat Classic in Davidson, N.C.

The Bucs will play Marshall (4 p.m. Friday), Elon (10 a.m. Saturday) and Davidson (6 p.m. Saturday) over the course of the two day tournament. The Wildcat Classic marks the beginning of the regular season for all four squads. Live stats for the entire tournament are available here, while our match with Davidson will be broadcast live on ESPN+. 

Marshall finished 13-19 (4-12 Sun Belt) in 2023, including a 3-3 mark in neutral site matches. The Thundering Herd returns senior setter Brynn Brown, who played in all 120 sets and notched 870 assists to pair with 251 kills, both of which are the top returning marks for The Herd. Freshman outside hitter Audrey Geer led Marshall with eight kills in its exhibition match, and sophomore libero Peyton Neal returns after posting 408 digs in 2023.

The Blue & Gold are 24-10 all-time against Marshall. The two teams last met in 2015 when ETSU won 3-0.

Elon went 5-22 (2-16 CAA) in the 2023 season. Senior outside hitter Sydney Love and sophomore middle blocker Cameron Lanier return after tallying 230 and 221 kills, respectively, to lead the Phoenix. Graduate student setter Ericka Link returns after posting 278 assists, the most returning for Elon. Senior defensive specialist/libero Caroline Doyle notched 195 digs and 25 aces, both of which are the leading returning marks in those categories.

ETSU will play Elon for the first time since 2009, when the Phoenix won 3-2. The all-time series record is split 3-3.

Davidson enters their host tournament coming off a 19-10 (11-7 A10) season. The Wildcats return the junior trio of outside hitters Jackie Barden and Anna Withee, and opposite Emma Slusser, who led Davidson with 218, 201 and 213 kills in 2023, respectively. Senior middle blocker Kayla Davis returns off a 158 kill and 100 block season, and senior Xuan Nguyen brings back 633 assists and 209 digs for the Wildcats.

ETSU leads the all-time series 20-11, but Davidson won the most recent contest, 3-1, in 2023.

The Buccaneers return their top three hitters, including junior outside hitter Brianna Cantrell, senior outside hitter/right side Amanda Lowe and graduate right side Jenna Forster, who tallied 311, 267 and 235 kills, respectively, in 2023. Cantrell recorded 25 aces and 203 digs, both the most of any returning Buc. 

Senior middle blocker Abbey Thomas returns after becoming one of two Bucs who played in all 109 sets throughout the 2023 season. Thomas notched 100 kills to pair with 100 blocks (22 solo). Sophomore defensive specialist Melanie Morris also returns after tallying 190 digs as a freshman.

Graduate transfer setter Reese Rhodes joins the Blue & Gold after four years at Texas Tech, including two as their starter. Rhodes posted 736 assists and 18 aces in her final campaign in Lubbock, leading the Red Raiders in both categories.

Following the Wildcat Classic, ETSU continues its road stretch at the Mountaineer Classic at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 6 vs. Appalachian State.

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, follow @ETSUVolleyball on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.