Volleyball opens 2024 season this weekend

Friday, August 30

Athens, OH

4:30 PM

Wright State University

Appalachian State

Photo by: Joseph Craven

8/29/2024 2:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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DAYTON — The Wright State volleyball team lifts the lid on its 2024 campaign this weekend with three matches at the Bobcat Invitational in Athens, Ohio. The Raiders kick off the year on Friday against Appalachian State before Saturday meetings with Xavier and host Ohio. All three of this weekend's matches can be seen on ESPN+.

MATCH INFORMATION
Friday, August 30 - vs. App State - 4:30 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
Saturday, August 31 - vs. Xavier - 10:30 a.m. - Watch - Live Stats
Sunday, August 31 - at Ohio - 7 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 2024 this weekend. The Raiders will play without reigning Horizon League Player of the Year Callie Martin, along with Megan Alders, for the first time since 2019. The duo combined for 714 kills last season and tallied 2,260 total kills over their five-year careers. Wright State also lost setter Katie Meyer, who passed out 1,031 assists last fall and was HL Setter of the Year. The Raiders return grad students Taylor Bransfield and Sam Ott to pace the offense, along with Horizon second-team members Jenny Wessling and Reilly Zegunis, while Zegunis added All-Freshman accolades as well.

DEFENDING THE HORIZON
Wright State was picked first in the Horizon League's preseason poll, tallying 99 points and nine of the 10 first place votes for the second straight season. The Raiders have been selected at the top of the preseason poll in four of the last five seasons dating back to the COVID-altered Spring 2021 campaign.

LONG ROAD FROM HERE
Wright State has played in four of the last five NCAA Championships, seeing their season schedule stretch from August through late November/early December three times since 2019, while the COVID-altered Spring 2021 schedule still saw the Raiders log four months of action from late January through the postseason in mid-April.

OPENING WEEKEND
Wright State opens 2024 with its sixth meeting against Appalachian State before facing a pair of in-state foes. The Raiders and Xavier have met 37 times, most recently in 2019, while Wright State has squared off with Ohio 25 times, but this weekend will be the first meeting since 1998.

KNOW THE FOES
- Appalachian State tallied a 14-15 overall record in 2023 with a 4-12 mark in the Sun Belt Conference, recording a 3-2 record in true neutral site matches. The Raiders are 4-1 all-time in the series that dates back to 1980, with the last meeting coming during neutral site tournament play in September 2018.
- Xavier compiled an 18-12 overall mark with an 11-7 Big East record a season ago, with a 2-3
mark in true neutral site matches. Wright State and Xavier have faced off 37 times, with the first meeting coming in 1973 and the most recent matchup in September 2019.
- Ohio finished 2023 with an 18-13 overall mark and a 13-5 record in the MAC, tallying a 7-5 record at home last season. The Raiders and Ohio have met 25 times previously, first in 1973 and most recently in 1998.

STARTING STRONG
Since 2019, the Raiders have won seven of 11 matches in opening weekend action (not counting the COVID-altered Spring 2021 season where they began 6-0). Wright State started 2-1 in 2019, dropping the opener before winning two straight to kick off what turned into a 16-match winning streak.