JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The Southeastern Louisiana volleyball program begins its first season under head coach Jeremy White with matches this coming weekend in the Jax State Invitational against Troy, East Tennessee State and host Jacksonville State.
 
Southeastern matches up with Troy at 10:30 a.m. Friday in the season opener and, later that afternoon, faces East Tennessee State at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Lions and host Jacksonville State square off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to conclude the weekend.
 
Live stats are available for every match in the four-team, round-robin event. Streaming video of all three Jacksonville State matches, including Southeastern's final tournament appearance, is available on ESPN+. Links for stats and video can be found on the volleyball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
The Lady Lions return seven players off last season's squad (2-27, 1-15 Southland). Leading the charge will be Jodi Edo, Caroline Golden and Sam Gomez.
 
Edo, a senior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shifts over to middle blocker this season. A junior from Mandeville, Louisiana, Gomez led the Lady Lions with 79 total blocks.
 
Golden finished second on the squad with 217.5 points in 2018, the most of any returning player. The junior outside hitter from Mandeville recorded 190 kills, handed out 39 assists and led the Lady Lions with 21 service aces.
 
Competing for playing time on the outside will be transfer Ryan Maddera. An outside hitter from McCook Community College in McCook, Nebraska, Maddera ranked fourth among hitters in the Region IX South division in total kills, her 3.18 kills per set ranked seventh and total blocks ranked 14th.
 
Another key player is transfer Karlee Wilkerson, a local product. The sophomore from Springfield, Louisiana, appeared in 18 matches last season at ULM and contributed an average of 1.60 points per set. Her versatility and arm will allow her to play in both the middle and opposite.
 
The 13th head coach in program history, White spent the previous two seasons in charge of the volleyball program at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He led the Lady Rangers to the two best seasons in school history, producing seven All-Conference selections and a Great American Conference Newcomer of the Year. The winningest coach in program history, White (38-25) engineered a 16-win improvement his first season, finishing the year 20-10 overall. 

UP NEXT
After the opening the season at the Jax State Invitational, the Lady Lions return to the road for a nonconference match Tuesday against Tulane in New Orleans, Louisiana. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
 
DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin' It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @SLU_VBall or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @Southeastern_vb on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.