By Dustin Semore
FHU Information Director
With a little over a week left until the beginning of the 2024 campaign, the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lion volleyball team is hard at work. Coming off of a 13-16 season in 2023, the Lady Lions have one goal in mind with the team’s mantra being “A unified group of driven competitors who exemplify Christ through their pursuit of excellence” while utilizing Colossians 3:23 as a team verse.
Five out of six of the Lady Lions’ regular starting rotation returns with Second-Team All-MSC players Charley Fulton and Alanys Ruíz Rivera returning.
“Alanys worked on her back row play in the off-season, so her defense is really strong,” said second-year head coach Amanda Bretherick. “Charley’s leadership is unmatched. She’s very vocal about her teammates’ needs and making sure that we’re bringing out the strongest in everyone else.”
The Lady Lions will also return senior Avery Harris while red-shirt junior Adleigh Mayes returns to the rotation. Juniors Catherine Hackett, Autumn Howard, Audrey Orton, and Avery Young are back in maroon and white while sophomore Masey Kate Adams returns as a setter.
Coach Bretherick expects four newcomers to make an immediate impact with junior Iza Wos entering with two years of junior college experience.
“[Iza] has been doing a real good job fitting in with our team. She’s a very dynamic player both front row and back row,” said Bretherick. “Her height makes her a threat on the block and her passing is strong.”
The Lady Lions will also add freshmen Alyssa Austin, Morgan Jackson, and Cate Schroer to the mix in 2024.
Bretherick adds, “Alyssa comes from a very high-level club program, so she has a lot of experience coming in already and she was able to practice with us last semester.”
Continuing with Jackson Betherick said, “She’s great to have. She’s a well-rounded player, and can be a strong blocker. She reads the hitters really well.
“Cate comes from Siegel High School – a really good volleyball program,” explained Bretherick. “Offensively, she does a really good job in transition by figuring out a place for the ball to go. Her teammates trust her a lot already.”
The Lady Lions will take on two teams that made it to the national tournament, including last year’s No. 22 St. Thomas (Fla.) who missed out on advancing to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship by way of a tiebreaker. FHU will also face Mid-South Conference champion University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) twice.
“We get to play some top-25 competition,” said Bretherick. “We feel like we’ve grown a lot from last year and so seeing how that stacks up against other teams will be good for us going into conference matches.”
FHU begins the season on August 20 with a visit from Rust (Miss.) College. The Lady Lions will then travel to Alabama to take part in the 2024 Faulkner Invitational. FHU will face two Southern States teams, William Carey (Miss.) and host Faulkner (Ala.) while battling two Sun conference squads, Keiser (Fla.) and St. Thomas.
The Lady Lions then host the 2024 edition of the Labor Day Classic hosting Fisk (Tenn.), Pikeville (Ky.), Tougaloo (Miss.), and UT Southern on August 30-31.
Mid-South Conference play opens at home on September 10 when the Lady Lions host the Wildcats of Bethel (Tenn.) University on September 10.
