Travers Green Era set to begin in West Virginia

Friday, August 26

Huntington, WV

12 PM

Wright State University

Evansville

8/25/2022 2:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Evansville Live Stats (Friday)Marshall Live Stats (Saturday)Marshall ESPN+ (Saturday)

DAYTON — The Wright State volleyball team begins the Travers Green Era this weekend with a pair of matches in West Virginia as part of the Marshall Invitational. The Raiders open 2022 Friday afternoon against Evansville before a Saturday meeting with the Thundering Herd. Saturday's match against Marshall will be available on ESPN+.

MATCH INFORMATION
Friday, August 26 - vs. Evansville - 12 p.m. - Live Stats
Saturday, August 27 - at Marshall - 12 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats

SINCE OUR LAST TIME OUT
Wright State will look different when it takes the floor for its first action of 2022 this weekend in several ways. Travers Green now roams the sideline after being introduced as the eighth head coach in program history back in April, and the Raiders have undergone significant roster changes as well. The Raiders lost six players off last year's roster, including program mainstays Nyssa Baker, Grace Hauck, Celia Powers, Ellee Ruskaup and Teddie Sauer, while adding six newcomers - five of which are freshmen.

FIFTH YEAR FAVS
The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Raiders, who will be anchored this fall by fifth-year players Lainey Stephenson and Jenna Story. Story, the three-time reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, regularly ranks inside the Top 5 nationally in total digs and digs per set average, while Stephenson passed out 1,179 assists last fall and is approaching the Top 5 most assists in Raider program history as she enters 2022 with just shy of 3,900 career assists.

MARSHALL INVITATIONAL
Wright State will meet Evansville for the first time in program history to kick off the 2022 campaign, while the Raiders and Marshall will square off for the second straight season and fourth time overall.

KNOW THE FOES
- Evansville finished 2021 with a 21-12 overall mark and a 9-9 record in Missouri Valley play, appearing in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship and winning a pair of matches before falling in the quarterfinals. The Raiders hold an 8-1 lead in the all-time series, with the first meeting coming in 1981 and the most recent coming in tournament action in August 2015.

- Marshall finished last season 9-16 overall with a 5-7 CUSA record. The Raiders defeated Marshall in four sets last fall inside McLin Gym as part of the Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational and lead the all-time series 10-4 entering the 2022 matchup.

THREE-PEAT
Jenna Story earned third consecutive Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year honor last fall and was also named a Horizon League first team performer for the third straight year, Story became only the second player in Horizon League history to have earned three Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Valparaiso's Taylor Root (2010-2012). In addition, the Story became the 28th player in League history to be a three-time first team selection.

Story led the nation in 2021 with 682 total digs, while her 5.78 digs per set average was second nationally. She has had 31 consecutive double-digit dig performances while anchoring a Wright State defense that held opponents to a .155 hitting percentage, a mark that ranked 14th in the country at the end of the season.

(2021) AWARDS SEASON
In addition to Jenna Story, Wright State saw three players earn Horizon League second team honors last fall: Nyssa Baker, Callie Martin and Lainey Stephenson. Martin turned in 10 double-doubles last season, including 22 matches with double digit digs, while she had 279 kills and a 2.34 kills per set average in 2021. Stephenson passed out 1,179 assists last fall, the 35th-most in the country, while setting up a Raider offense that was No. 33 in the nation with 1,604 total kills.