HAMMOND, La. –The reigning, two-time Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team will join three other 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifiers - #16 BYU, High Point, and Fairfield - in Provo, Utah to open the 2024 season at the dōTERRA Classic which starts Friday at BYU's George Albert Smith Fieldhouse.
 
Southeastern opens the dōTERRA Classic against the 16^th-ranked Cougars at 1pm CDT/12 pm MDT on Friday and follows that up with the match against High Point at 5:30 pm CDT/4:30 pm MDT that evening. Saturday, the Lady Lions take on Fairfield at 5 pm CDT/4 pm MDT to wrap up the week's competition. All three matches are set to be live streamed on ESPN+ with live stats also available through the host institution.
 
SLU is coming off its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and is looking for a quick start with the revamped line-up that will rely on key returners Hannah Brewer, Gracie Duplechein, and preseason All-Conference First Team member Cicily Hidalgo to help keep the momentum of last season's big run going. The Lady Lions won their final 20 regular season matches of 2023 before winning two more in the Southland Conference Tournament to take home both SLC titles. The 22-match win streak was snapped in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Oregon, who advanced all the way to the Regional Final. SLU was picked to finish third in the Southland this season, behind the conference's two newcomers this season, Stephen F. Austin & UTRGV.
 
#16 BYU is also coming off of a run to the NCAA Tournament, earning an at-large bid as a four-seed after finishing third in the Big XII in 2023. The Cougars won their first-round match before succumbing in the second round in four sets. Mia Lee is the top point-scorer returning for BYU while Kate Prior joined Lee on the Big XII's Preseason All-Conference team. The Cougars were picked second in the Big XII in the conference's preseason poll, behind Kansas.
 
High Point looks to continue its roll from 2023 where the Panthers went undefeated through Big South Conference play on its way to winning the conference's regular season and tournament championships. High Point dropped its first-round match to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, a Volunteer team which made it to the Regional Semifinal. High Point is picked to win the Big South again this season, getting all but one of the first-place votes in the conference's preseason poll. The Panthers are expected to be led by the Big South's Preseason Player of the Year, Dylan Maberry, Preseason Setter of the Year, Allie Gray, Preseason Libero of the Year, Jordyn Schilling, and fellow Preseason All-Conference Team member, Eve Wilson.
 
Fairfield was also a dual champion in 2023, winning the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference's regular season and tournament championships on its way to an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2023. The Stags lost their first-round match to Purdue, a Boilermaker squad which ran into the same Oregon team that eliminated SLU in the Regional Semifinal and fell to the Ducks. Much like High Point, Fairfield is picked to win its conference, receiving all but one of the first-place votes in the MAAC's preseason poll. Allie Elliot, Mikayla Haut, and Maya Walker were all named Preseason All-Conference for the Stags.
 
The trip to Utah is the first of six-straight matches away from Hammond, America to open the season for the Lady Lions, who follow the trip to Provo with another trip out west for the Borderlands Invitational at UTEP next weekend.
 
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 @LionUpVB or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @LionUpVB on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.