CHARLESTON, S.C. – Eastern Kentucky University's volleyball team will open its 2025 season with three matches at the College of Charleston Classic this weekend.
 
The Colonels will begin the campaign against Mercer at 11 a.m. on Friday.  A second match on Friday is set against the host Cougars at 7 p.m.  EKU will conclude the event against Appalachian State at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
All home matches during the 2025 season are scheduled to be played in the Olympic Sports Training Center.  Season tickets start at just $40.  Due to the limited capacity, season tickets provide the best opportunity to see the Colonels in action as single game tickets will be extremely limited on a game-by-game basis. Contact the EKU Ticket Office at 859-622-2122 to purchase.
 
THE COLONELS
-  Since the start of the 2023 season, the Colonels are a combined 42-19.  EKU has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005.
 
-  In 2024, the team finished 21-10 and advanced to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament semifinals.
 
-  Four starters return from last season's team – setter Emilee Hill, right side AG Hynes (Vandagriff), middle blocker Carson Ledford and outside hitter Madi Tolzman.  Hill, Hynes and Ledford all earned All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors in 2024.
 
-  Ledford was selected to the Preseason All-ASUN Team this month.  She averaged 2.09 kills, 0.91 blocks and 0.21 aces per set while hitting .379 last season.
 
-  The Colonels were picked to place third in the ASUN in 2025.  Lipscomb is the preseason favorite and Florida Gulf Coast was picked second.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
-  Last season Mercer went 26-7, captured the Southern Conference regular season title with a 14-2 league mark and earned a spot in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).  The team lost its top three in kills per set, its primary setter, its leader in blocks and its leader in digs.  
 
-  Charleston posted a 25-9 record in 2024, finished tied for first in the Coastal Athletic Association with a 15-3 league mark, won the CAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.  The Cougars lost their top six players in kills, their primary setter, their top seven players in blocks and their top five players in digs. 
 
-  Appalachian state finished 18-10 a year ago and in first place in the Sun Belt Conference East Division with an 11-3 league mark.  The Mountaineers earned a spot in the NIVC.  Maya Winterhoff, who led ASU with 2.85 kills and 0.96 blocks per set returns in 2025.  As does primary setter Addison Heidemann.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
-  EKU and Mercer have never met on the volleyball court. 
 
-  The Colonels are 1-0 all-time against the College of Charleston, with the only previous meeting coming in 1975. 
 
-  In the series against Appalachian State, EKU has a 3-2 edge.  The first meeting was in 1979.  The most recent match between the two came in 2022, a 3-0 Colonel victory in Spartanburg, South Carolina.