Jenkins takes Bucs to her alma mater for season opener

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 25, 2022) – The wait is finally over!

After weeks of preseason practice and workouts, the ETSU volleyball team is set to open its 2022 season as the Buccaneers head to Florida for the Gators Invitational, which gets underway Friday inside the O’Connell Center.

ETSU’S MATCHES

Friday, Aug. 26 | vs. Virginia | 4 p.m. | Live Stats

Saturday, Aug. 26 | at Florida | Noon | Live Video | Live Stats

Saturday, Aug. 26 | vs. North Florida | 4:30 p.m. | Live Stats

ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU, who returns 14 players from last season’s roster, was picked to finish third in the SoCon Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
• Sophomore setter Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) returns for year two in the Blue and Gold after earning SoCon all-freshman team honors in 2021 … Dykes started all 28 matches for the Bucs last season, totaling 883 assists, 306 digs and 27 aces.
• ETSU will have to replace a pair of all-conference selections in Josannah Vazquez (Mansfield, Texas) and Sara Esposito (Pianiga, Venezia, Italy) as they combined for 634 kills, 348 digs and 78 blocks.
• Head coach Benavia Jenkins – who is entering her fourth season – brought in three freshman – Brianna Cantrell (Appleton, Wis.), Whitley Rammel (Ft. Recovery, Ohio) and Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.). Sophomore Amanda Lowe (Blacksburg, Va.) will also don the Blue and Gold for the first year after playing her freshman campaign at Virginia Tech.  
• Jenkins is heading back to her alma mater where she was an All-American middle blocker after registering over 1,000 kills and 600 blocks, becoming the first Gator to record over 600 blocks in a career … The three-time AVCA All-American and four-time all-SEC selection, helped guide Florida to four straight SEC championships and back-to-back Final Four appearances … Jenkins was inducted into Florida’s Hall of Fame in 2017.  
• This marks the second straight season ETSU is opening up with a Power-5 program as the Bucs took on Texas Tech a year ago in Knoxville … Since 2017-18, the Bucs have defeated seven Power-5 programs – NC State (2021), Clemson, Tennessee, Duke and Washington State in 2018 and Virginia and Virginia Tech in 2017.
• The Bucs opened the 2018 season with a four-set win over Clemson, which propelled the Blue and Gold to an overall record of 28-7 and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENTS

Virginia

• The Cavaliers are led by second-year head coach Shannon Wells … In Wells’ first season, Virginia went 8-20 overall and 1-17 in ACC play. 

• Virginia returns 11 players who saw time on the court in 2021, while bringing in five new players. 

• Grace Turner and Brooklyn Borum are the top returning kills leaders from last year’s squad … Borum led the team with 234 kills and Turner added 228 … Ashley Le led the 2021 team with 506 assists and Borum is the team’s top returner in digs (218).

• Borum earned ACC all-freshman team honors in 2021.

• Kristen Leland led the Cavaliers last year with 273 digs and Alana Walker was the blockers leader with 151, but they both graduated.

• Friday marks the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs with Virginia holding the slight 2-1 advantage … ETSU swept the Cavaliers in the last meeting back on Sept. 1, 2017, in Boone, N.C.

Florida

• The Gators made their 31st straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season after finishing with an overall record of 22-9, marking the 31st straight year Florida posted at least 20 wins – the longest streak in the country … Florida reached the Reginal Final in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

• Florida enters the season ranked No. 15 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll, marking the 31st consecutive year the Gators have been ranked in the top-15 of the AVCA preseason poll.

• The Gators were selected to finish second in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. 

• A pair of sophomores, Merritt Beason and Bre Kelley, were named to the Preseason All-SEC Team after earning sports on the SEC All-Freshman team a year ago.

• Florida returns eight players from last year’s Regional Semifinal team, including Beason and Kelley – who were starters – as well as libero Elli McKissock. 

• Saturday will mark the first all-time meeting between ETSU and Florida.

North Florida

• UNF is coming off a historical season where the Ospreys finished 25-8 and reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

• UNF’s 25 wins marked a NCAA Division I-era program record. 

• The Ospreys return two-time ASUN Defensive Player of the Year Rocio Moro … The UNF libero was also named ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year … Moro totaled 597 digs and reached double-digit digs in 30 of the 33 matches … For her career, she has recorded 1,628 career digs. 

• UNF returns eight letterwinners from a year ago, including three starters.

• The Ospreys were picked to finish sixth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches’ Poll. 

• ETSU and UNF met 15 times during their ASUN days with the Bucs winning 11 of those matches.

UP NEXT

ETSU heads to Durham, N.C. for the Duke Invitational Tournament, which gets underway Friday, Sept. 2 … The Bucs open with host Duke at Noon next Friday, while taking on Northeastern at 5 p.m. … ETSU concludes play with East Carolina Saturday at Noon.

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