SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury volleyball opens its 2025 season this weekend with a trip to Jackson, Tenn., where the Panthers will take part in the Union University Volleyball Classic at Fred DeLay Gymnasium.
The Panthers will take on host Union at 1 p.m., Friday to open their 51st season, before squaring off against Harding (5:30 p.m.) to wrap up opening day. DU then faces Texas A&M-Kingsville (9 a.m.) Saturday morning, before concluding its stay in Jackson with a 1 p.m., matchup against Lane College.
Fans may follow the action through FloCollege.com (subscription required), where tournament games will be streamed live throughout the weekend.
SERIES HISTORIES
- Drury brings a cumulative 6-12 overall record against its four Union Volleyball Classic opponents into the tournament.
- The Panthers are 0-1 against Union, with their lone meeting coming in Springfield in September 2013, resulting in a Lady Bulldogs victory (3-0).
- DU owns a 5-10 all-time mark vs. Harding, having last matched up with the Lady Bisons in September 2022, when the Panthers dropped a 3-1 decision.
- Drury and Texas A&M-Kingsville have split their only two meetings, with the Panthers notching a 3-0 victory in their most recent match in September 2015.
- Saturday's tourney finale vs. Lane will mark the Panthers' first meeting with the Dragons, but also the first of two matchups for the two programs in a span of eight days; Lane will travel to Springfield next weekend to take part in the Drury Invitational, including another match against the Panthers (Sept. 13).
OPENING STORYLINES
- Drury head coach Jenifer Bahner-Hill will embark on her 12th season leading the Panthers, entering the campaign with 157 career victories.
- Bahner-Hill's win total ranks second in DU history behind Barbara Cowherd's 487 victories.
- DU has 25 opening match victories on record, including a 10-4 mark in season debuts since 2011.
- This season will mark the fourth consecutive year the Panthers have opened on the road.
- DU won three of four matches at the Midwestern State Invitational (Sept. 6-7) in Wichita Falls, Texas, to open its 2024 campaign.
- Drury ranked 12th nationally as a team in digs per set (18.64) last fall.
- The Panthers also ranked second in the GLVC in blocks per set (2.22) in 2024.
PREVIEWING THE PANTHERS
- Drury returns 13 letterwinners from last season's 14-13 team that posted an eight-win turnaround from 2023.
- DU won six of its first eight matches last fall, matching its best start to a season since 2018.
- Mailie Chretien led the Panthers with 269 kills (2.54 per set), while fellow senior Kyla Clubb contributed 202 (2.24 per set) for last year's squad; Clubb added 46 blocks as well to rank third on the team.Â
- Sophomore Kim Quinit led the Panthers with her average of 4.05 digs per set as a freshman, while Chretien added 3.80 per set; the duo of sophomore Jenna LaBarge and senior Payton Mitchell chipped in with averages of 2.71 and 2.55 digs per set in 2024.
- Mary Henry and Phoebe Riddle also return for the Panthers, forming DU's veteran senior corps along with Chretien, Clubb and Mitchell.
- Junior setter Lauren Tyler paced DU in assists last season, tallying 9.17 per set to rank seventh among all GLVC performers.
- Tyler logged a team-best 899 assists as a junior and enters her final season as a Panther with 1,819 for her career--good for 12th on DU's all-time list, just 24 assists away from cracking the program's top 10.
- Additionally, junior Grace Gardner made 22 starts for DU last fall, totaling 136 kills, 85 digs, 73 assists and 43 blocks, while sophomores Emerson Grossman, Gracie Kimrey, Kennedy Outler and Abby Renshaw earned playing time as freshmen in 2024.
- In addition to its corps of returners, Drury welcomes eight newcomers to the mix, led by transfers Chaney Barth (Francis Marion), Jacy Bray (UT Arlington) and Ella Rademaker (SBU).
- Freshmen Skylar Hilton, Megan Howard, Alyssa Lindemann, Caroline Red, Amelia White and Hannah Williams make up a talented and deep class of newcomers and could give Bahner-Hill additional options throughout the fall.
- Drury also turned in a strong 2024-25 year in the classroom, as 12 Panthers were named Academic All-GLVC, paced by Chretien and Mitchell, who each earned CSC Academic All-District recognition at the conclusion of the season.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury returns to Springfield to open its 2025 home slate next Friday (Sept. 12), hosting the Drury Invitational at O'Reilly Family Event Center. The Panthers will take on Cameron at 1 p.m., and Northwest Missouri State at 5 p.m., on the tournament's opening day, before hosting Lane (1 p.m.) and East Central (5 p.m.) to close the event Saturday.
For all the latest information on Drury volleyball, visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.
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