This upcoming season, 10 players from this past season will return to the ETSU volleyball team.
Three of them are All-SoCon selections: junior Rylee Milhorn (Kingsport, Tenn.), senior Briana Allmon (Flower Mound, Texas) and sophomore Hailey Aguilar (Oswego, Illinois).
Last season, Milhorn was an asset to the Bucs, tallying 369 kills. With the loss of Khadijah Wiley who was third in kills last season (300 kills), Milhorn will be a key player this year.
Senior Briana Allmon as a junior led the team in kills a season ago with 378. She also was a leader for the Bucs.
Hailey Aguilar as a freshman last year brought a toughness to the Bucs defense with the hustle she gave. Aguilar led the Bucs with 457 digs a season ago.
Last season head coach Lindsey Devine showed she’s very comfortable going deep in her bench.
Coach Devine added three new incoming freshmen: Madison Mudd (Louisville, Ky.), Kaela Massey (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Aya Lechin (Deerfield, Beach, Fl.).
Mudd has solid achievements so far in her volleyball career. She won a Kentucky High School State Championship before winning the national high school championship as a junior. Mudd was also named an All-American in her senior season. She was a part of the Volleyball Phenom list in 2013 and 2014.
“Madison is a tough, gritty competitor who plays much bigger than her 5’7” frame,” Devine said. “She has been a proven winner in her high school career and will add that mentality to ETSU volleyball this fall.”
Massey was named the MVP of the district her senior year. She was also named an AVCA Under Armor All-American Honorable Mention and Region MVP this past season.
She was a player on three state championship teams at Brentwood High School and has numerous of other academic accolades.
Lechin won a 4A Florida High School State Championship as a senior and was named to the honor roll all four years in high school.
“Aya has an athletic presence on the floor that mirrors the kind of intensity that’s a perfect fit for our program,” Devine said. “I am fired up that she will be wearing the blue and gold uniform this fall.”
The Bucs as a team this summer have put in a lot of time in the weight room, an area that Devine felt the Bucs needed to improve on in order to get the results they wanted.
The Bucs finished last season with a record of 19-12 and 9-7 in conference play. In the volleyball preseason poll, the Bucs are projected to tie for fifth.
The Bucs first match of the season will be against Austin Peay on Aug. 26.
