ASHEVILLE, N.C. - East Tennessee State volleyball is set to open the 2025 postseason in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament.
socon tournament
Quarterfinal Match Information (Game 3):
East Tennessee State vs. Winner of Match 1 (Western Carolina vs. The Citadel)
Nov. 21 | 1:30 p.m. | Asheville, N.C. | Harrah's Cherokee Center
Match Notes |
Live Stats |
Watch (ESPN+) |
Tickets
Semifinal Match Information (Game 6):
TBD vs. TBD
Nov. 22 | 4 p.m. | Asheville, N.C. | Harrah's Cherokee Center
Match Notes |
Live Stats |
Watch (ESPN+) |
Tickets
Championship Match Information (Game 8):
TBD vs. TBD
Nov. 23 | 4 p.m. | Asheville, N.C. | Harrah's Cherokee Center
Match Notes |
Live Stats |
Watch (ESPN+) |
Tickets
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
Thursday, Nov. 20
First Round
Match 1: No. 8 Western Carolina vs. No. 9 The Citadel, 4 p.m. ET
Friday, Nov. 21
Quarterfinals
Match 2: No. 4 Chattanooga vs. No. 5 UNCG, 10:30 a.m.
Match 3: No. 1 ETSU vs. Match 1 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Match 4: No. 2 Furman vs. No. 7 Mercer, 4:30 p.m.
Match 5: No. 3 Wofford vs. No. 6 Samford, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 22
Semifinals
Match 6: Match 2 winner vs. Match 3 winner, 4 p.m.
Match 7: Match 4 winner vs. Match 5 winner, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 23
Championship
Match 8: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 winner, 4 p.m.
2025 POSTSEASON NOTES
- 2025 SoCon Regular Season Champions; 8th in program history, 4th under Devine.
- Tied the program record for longest win streak (16 matches).
- Set the program record for longest conference win streak in program history (13 matches).
- Set the program record for best start to conference play in program history (13 consecutive wins).
- Recorded the best conference record in program history (15-1, .938).
- ETSU reached the 19th season in program history with 20+ wins.
- The Bucs secured the No. 1 seed in the 2025 SoCon Tournament.
- Devine was selected as the SoCon Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and the fifth time in her career.
- Makayla Bays was tabbed the SoCon Player of the Year and earned a slot on the All-SoCon First Team.
- Four additional members of the squad earned spots on the All-SoCon Teams: Whitley Rammel (First Team), Brianna Cantrell (Second Team), Bailey Gohlke (Freshman Team) and Sophie Davis (Freshman Team).
2025 NOTABLE MOMENTS
- Makayla Bays and Bailey Gohlke boasted back-to-back matches with double-doubles with UNC Greensboro and Wofford.
- Melanie Morris collected her first career double-double with 11 assists and 13 digs versus Wofford.
- Belle Iosua recorded a .400+ hitting percentage in back-to-back matches with eight kills hitting .412 versus UNC Greensboro and 12 kills hitting .435 versus Wofford.
- Whitley Rammel led the squad in the five-set victory over UNC Greensboro with 11 kills on a .429 clip with two aces and seven total blocks.
- The 2025 Buccaneers secured the SoCon Regular Season Championship in their sweep of The Citadel for the eighth regular season championship in program history and the fourth under Lindsey Devine.
- Whitley Rammel reached 300 career blocks at Furman. The senior middle blocker also hit .667 with eight kills on 12 attempts with no errors at The Citadel.
- Makayla Bays boasted 23 kills in the Furman contest and finished week 12 action as the league leader in total points (39.5), points per sets (4.94), total aces (7), aces per set (0.88) and total kills (31).
- Brianna Cantrell reached 1,000 career kills with her second kill in the sweep of Western Carolina.
- Makayla Bays boasted 15 kills on a .407 clip in the three-sit victory over the Catamounts.
- All 15 Buccaneers saw action in the sweep of Western Carolina, the second time this season the bench has cleared.
- Four Bucs reached double-digit digs in the four-set victory over Samford: Morris, Cantrell, Kreutzmann and Bays.
- Whitley Rammel hit .571 with 13 kills over the Bulldogs for her 13th match of the season hitting over .400.
- Alex Kreutzmann (30 A, 12 D) and Makayla Bays (11 K, 13 D) both collected double-doubles in the four set win over Samford.
- 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.
2025 honors and awards
Makayla Bays - Southern Conference Player of the Year
Lindsey Devine - Southern Conference Coach of the Year
Makayla Bays - All-SoCon First Team
Whitley Rammel - All-SoCon First Team
Brianna Cantrell - All-SoCon Second Team
Bailey Gohlke - All-SoCon Freshman Team
Sophie Davis - All-SoCon Freshman Team
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
ABOUT THE SQUAD
- 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 faced competition from 10 conferences (SEC, CAA, ACC, Patriot League, MAC, Horizon League, A-10, CUSA, Big South, and SoCon) across the 27 scheduled contests.
2025 SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRESEASON COACHES POLL
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
2024 SEASON
- 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.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Season, single-game and group tickets can be purchased
here.
For more information on Buccaneer women's volleyball, follow @ETSUvolleyball on
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