JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - East Tennessee State volleyball continues Southern Conference play at home in Brooks Gym on Friday evening versus Samford at 6 p.m. and Saturday afternoon versus Western Carolina at 3 p.m.  The Bucs versus the Bulldogs features Spike or Treat! with a series of promos to bring out the Halloween holiday spirit in Buc Nation.

The VolleyBucs look to continue the 13 match win streak, after reaching 10 consecutive conference wins for the best start to conference play in program history.  
 
Match Information:
East Tennessee State vs. Samford
Oct. 31 | 6 p.m. | Johnson City, Tenn. | Brooks Gym
Match Notes | Live Stats
Matchup Notes:

• In the previous meeting, ETSU defeated Samford in four sets on the road for week two of SoCon play. Rammel boasted eight kills on a .538 clip with three block assists. Davis tallied nine kills on a .533 clip with three block assists. Morris saw 24 digs in the backrow for her season-high. Bays led the offense with 15 kills and tacked on nine digs. 
• The first meeting of the two programs was in 2014 where Samford defeated ETSU in five sets. 
• ETSU leads the series at 15-14. 

Match Information:
East Tennessee State vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 1 | 3 p.m. | Johnson City, Tenn. | Brooks Gym
Match Notes | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Matchup Notes:

• In the previous meeting, ETSU downed Western Carolina in four sets to open week two SoCon action. Bays tallied her 10th career double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs. Cantrell posted 11 kills with two aces and three total blocks. Rammel led the squad with 11 kills on a .562 clip with five total blocks and two aces. The squad averaged 15.25 digs per set in the contest. 
• The first meeting of the two programs was in 1979 where WCU defeated ETSU 2-0. 
• The Bucs have the advantage in the series at 51-43. 

• Alex Kreutzmann (20 A, 10 D) and Brianna Cantrell (17 K, 14 D) each boasted double-doubles in the four set win over Chattanooga.
• Whitley Rammel posted another dominate game at Chattanooga, collecting eight kills on a .412 clip with two block solos and seven block assists.
• Belle Iosua tallied six block assists, a career-high, in back-to-back matches versus Mercer and at Chattanooga.
• Gianna Blair accumulated a career-high eight block assists in the three-set match versus Mercer.
• The Bucs boasted 22 total blocks at 7.33 blocks per set in the sweep of Mercer.
• Whitley Rammel boasted a career-high 10 block assists at UNC Greensboro, just one assist from tying the ETSU program record.
• Three Bucs registered double-doubles in the five-set victory over UNC Greensboro: Brianna Cantrell (19 K, 15 D), Makayla Bays (22 K, 13 D) and Alex Kreutzmann (31 A, 10 D).
• Bailey Gohlke dished a career-high five aces at Wofford to be the first Buc to reach the number since Reese Rhodes in November of 2024, also at Wofford.
• Three Bucs tallied double-doubles in the four-set win over Furman: Brianna Cantrell (17 K, 10 D), Makayla Bays (15 K, 12 D) and Bailey Gohlke (35 A, 11 D).
• Setters Bailey Gohlke and Alex Kreutzmann paced the Buccaneer offense to 92 combined assists (13.14/set), a team attack % of .357 (SoCon high last week) and helped hitters to 15.14 k/s with 4 hitters week attack percentage over .370 between The Citadel and Furman matches.
• Whitley Rammel tallied her third and fourth consecutive matches hitting over .500, posting a season-high 14 kills versus Furman with seven total blocks and two aces between the two matches.
• Gianna Blair boasted a career-high nine kills on a career-high .692 clip with six total blocks in the sweep of The Citadel.
• Whitley Rammel had back-to-back offensive career outings with a .563 clip on 11 kills at Western Carolina and a .538 clip on eight kills at Samford.  She totaled 19 kills, eight total blocks, two aces and six digs through the eight sets played.
• Melanie Morris boasted a season-best weekend with 21 digs at Western Carolina and 24 digs at Samford for 5.625 digs per set through the weekend.
• Makayla Bays posted her fourth double-double of the season and the 10th of her career at Western Carolina with 13 kills and 12 digs.
• Makayla Bays accumulated a career-high 24 kills for the second time in two weeks versus Chattanooga, totaling 41 kills at 5.13 k/s over the span of the opening two conference matches.
• Sophie Davis boasted career-highs in kills and block assists in the win over Chattanooga with 12 kills and five block assists to be one of the top offensive and defensive producers in the match for the Bucs.
• Bailey Gohlke recorded her second and third career double-doubles in the Hokie Classic with 23 assists and 13 digs at Virginia Tech and 15 assists with 10 digs versus Middle Tennessee State.
• Whitley Rammel collected three block solos in the match against Virginia Tech, marking a career-high and capturing the team single-match lead for block solos.
• Whitley Rammel boasted an elusive kills-blocks double-double in the five-set win over High Point, tallying 12 kills and 10 total blocks.  
• The Buccaneer Classic was highlighted by Rammel's contributions:
  • vs. VCU - 13 kills, .423 attack percentage, two aces, five block assists
  • vs. WKU - 12 kills, .500 attack percentage, one block solo, two block assists
  • vs. HPU - 12 kills, one block solo, nine block assists, double-double
  • Total - 37 kills at 3.08/set, .392 attack percentage, two aces, six digs, two block solos, 16 block assists
• Makayla Bays accumulated a career-high 24 kills versus High Point, upending her previous career-high of 19 set against American.
• Isabelle Iosua reached 14 kills for a career-high against High Point.
• Sophie Davis dished three consecutive service aces to open a set versus Western Kentucky.
• Bailey Gohlke collected her first career double-double (19 A, 10 D) in the program's first win in the 2025 campaign, leading the offense in the sweep of American to a .377 hitting percentage.

Bailey Gohlke - Southern Conference Setter of the Week (Oct. 13)
Makayla Bays - Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 13)
Makayla Bays - Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 22)
Isabelle Iosua - Hokie Classic All-Tournament Team
Makayla Bays - Hokie Classic MVP
Whitley Rammel - Buccaneer Classic All-Tournament Team
Makayla Bays - Gamecock Classic All-Tournament Team
Brianna Cantrell - Preseason All-SoCon
Whitley Rammel - Preseason All-SoCon
 

• East Tennessee State volleyball enters its 47th season of competition in the 2025 campaign.
• Lindey Devine returns for her 18th season as head coach of East Tennessee State volleyball, and for her second consecutive season.
• Devine returned eight from the 2024 roster and added seven freshmen to complete the 2025 roster.  The squad is comprised of three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and seven freshmen.
• Emily Arnold and Aaron Giorgi return for their second seasons with the program after joining the staff prior to the 2024 season.
• Brianna Cantrell, the 2022 SoCon Freshman of the Year, was tabbed to the 2025 Preseason All-SoCon team.  The senior outside hitter has accumulated 14 double-doubles, 799 kills, 35 assists, 71 aces, 673 digs and 101 total blocks across her three previous seasons with the program.
• Whitley Rammel was tabbed to the 2025 Preseason All-SoCon team after a standout 2024 season where she totaled 208 kills on a .327 season-long clip with 25 block solos and 73 block assists.
• The squad faces competition from 10 conferences (SEC, CAA, ACC, Patriot League, MAC, Horizon League, A-10, CUSA, Big South, and SoCon) across the 27 scheduled contests.
• Brooks Gymnasium will house action for 10 of 17 matches in the 2025 campaign and tickets can be purchased here.

2025 Southern Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Wofford (5) - 61
2. Samford (3) - 54
3. ETSU - 51
4. Furman (1) - 47
5. Chattanooga - 29
    UNCG - 29
7. The Citadel - 23
8. Mercer - 18
9. Western Carolina - 12
() denotes first-place votes

2025 Southern Conference Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team
Brianna Cantrell, ETSU, OH
Whitley Rammel, ETSU, MB/RS
Izzy Castelloe, Furman, MB
Sophia Henry, Mercer, OH/RS
Allie Sweet, UNCG, OH
Kaleigh Meritt, Samford, OH
Kynli Kirkendoll, Chattanooga, MB
Bradley Brown, Wofford, MB
Laney Klika, Wofford, LIB
Bri Mahoney, Wofford, OH
 

• Lindsey Devine returned to the helm of the East Tennessee State volleyball program in the 2024 season, turning around a 6-23 season from 2023 to go 19-11 in the 2024 schedule.
• Devine was selected as the 2024 SoCon Coach of the Year for the third time in her career for her immense success in her first year back with the program.
• ETSU led the SoCon in total blocks (259.5) and blocks/set (2.32) in the 2024 slate.
• The squad finished third in the 2024 SoCon Tournament, falling to tournament champion Wofford 3-1 in the semifinals.
• Abbey Thomas and Reese Rhodes were respectively tabbed to the All-SoCon Second Team for their efforts in the 2024 season while Makayla Bays was selected to the SoCon All-Freshman team after tallying six double-doubles and career-highs of 15 kills, 17 digs and three block assists through her debut year.
• The Bucs were selected to finish sixth in the SoCon Preseason Poll, yet finished third overall in the regular season.
• 2024 Team Leaders: Kills - Amanda Lowe, 315 | Assists - Reese Rhodes, 1052 | Aces - Reese Rhodes, 41 | Digs - Melanie Morris, 461 | Block Solos - Abbey Thomas, 37 | Block Assists - Abbey Thomas, 87
• Jenna Forster was tabbed to the Preseason All-SoCon team.

Season, single-game and group tickets can be purchased here.
For more information on Buccaneer women's volleyball, follow @ETSUvolleyball on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.