ETSU volleyball had a strong season this fall with an overall record of 21-8 and a conference record of 15-1, the only loss in conference play being 3-2 against Chattanooga on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
The Bucs earned the No. 1 seed in the SoCon Championship Tournament, where they ultimately fell in the Quarterfinal round 3-1 against the Furman Paladins.
With the accomplishments the team made this season on the court, awards and honors followed them off the court as well.
Head coach Benavia Jenkins was awarded 2022 SoCon Coach of the Year. This is her fourth year as head coach of ETSU, and the first time she has received an award like this in her coaching career.
Three freshmen on the team were tabbed to the all-freshman team: Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Michigan), Whitley Rammel (Ft. Recovery, Ohio) and Brianna Cantrell (Appleton, Wisconsin). Rammell totaled 140 kills and 62 blocks, Johnson with 136 kills and 56 blocks, and Cantrell with 290 kills, 41 blocks and 210 digs.
In addition to being named to the all-freshman team, Cantrell also was awarded the Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year award and a spot on the second-team all-conference.
Sophomore Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) was named SoCon’s Setter of the Year with her 939 assists, 251 digs and 11 double-doubles. Throughout the season, Dykes was also awarded five weekly awards.
Both Dykes and senior Lundyn Coffman (Nolensville, Tennessee) earned a spot in the all-conference first team. In her season, Coffman had 96 blocks and 1.09 blocks per set. She had the most blocks of the Buccaneers this season and ranked second in the Conference for blocks. Including these awards, Coffman had 169 kills and on Monday, Oct. 3 she was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week.
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team honored junior Jenna Forester (Maryville, Tennessee), sophomore Haley Sanders (Brentwood, Tennessee) and graduate student Taylor Roberts (Sneads, Florida). These athletes are selected for the team to recognize the top student-athletes in the nation.
Overall, ETSU volleyball earned nine postseason awards, the most of the season, and three superlative awards.
