MARSHALL, Texas – Opening up the 2017 season on the road in Mississippi, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team is young, full of energy, and ready to take on the new year. ETBU will open up 2017 on Friday, September 1 at the Millsaps College Crossover against Agnes Scott at 1:00 p.m. ETBU will also face host Millsaps College on Friday and then LaGrange College and Rhodes College on Saturday.
Coming into the regular season, ETBU is projected to finish third overall in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) East Division. Head coach
Keely Peterson led the team to a 13-14 record last year, including a 5-7 conference record in her first season at the helm. After losing a strong senior class, she will look to integrate nine newcomers into the fold in which seven are freshmen.
ETBU will be led by the senior in
Abby Weaver and juniors
Elyse Shaw,
Allison Sevening, and
Paige Miller.Coming into her final season with ETBU, Weaver collected 136 kills, 25 blocks and 38 digs during her 2016 campaign. She also managed a career-high 17 kills against Wiley College last season.
Junior S
Elyse Shaw also turned in a successful year last season. She chipped in 403 assists, 240 digs and 15 service aces to pace the Tigers' attack. She also managed to provide 10 double-doubles in her sophomore season. Sevening added 138 kills and was second on the team in blocks with 47. She played in 27 matches and posted a career-high 13 kills vs. LeTourneau. Miller had seven blocks in 16 matches played posting a career-high eight kills vs. LeTourneau.
ETBU will have their first home matchup against Centenary College (Louisiana) on September 5. The last time these teams met, the Tigers dominated the Lady Gents taking a 3-0 win. ETBU recorded 43 kills on a 37.5% attack percentage overall.
Starting the new season, Peterson said this about her team, "We came in hungry to camp. The girls have worked really hard all preseason. We've brought in some really strong freshman and transfers and we're excited to see how this continues to grow."
