The Mountain Lion Talk

*Sophomore setter Alex Boydstone , with 38 appearances, is one shy of tying grad student middle/right side hitter Jessica Beckner for third in program history for games played. *Sophomore outside hitter Lily Hidalgo and classmate defensive specialist Joha Bernis each appeared in their thirtieth game for Mountain Lion volleyball and have tied Annie Messler for fifth on the program list for games played. *Junior middle hitter Alex Pierre , meanwhile, tallied her fifteenth appearance for the team and is six shy of moving past Amber Cunningham into tenth for career appearances. 

1. Kori Still (42) 2. Kallee McKinney (41) 3. Jessica Beckner (39) 4. Alex Boydstone (38) 5. Annie Messler, Lily Hidalgo, Joha Bernis (30) 6. Chase Vaigneur (28) 7. Sophie Bearden, Shelby Mullins (27) 8. Lorin Tidick (24) 9. Ginger Truncale (23) 10. Amber Cunningham (20) 11. Emily DeBerry (16) 12. Alex Pierre (15) 13. Hailey Hart, Gray Miller (14) 14. Marie Ahern (13) 15. Haley King (8) 16. Mikaela Chappelear (5) 17. Rojina Jafari-Naeini, Mollie Lawrence, Nicole Klucharich (4) 18. Jamie Thomas (3) 19. Abby Schirm (1) 

Friday (August 26th) Sophomore setter Alex Boydstone provided 17 assists in the game against Coker College, becoming the first in program history to record 400 assists. Her appearance against Coker College was also the thirty-fifth of her career. She currently sits at 431 assists through 37 games.  Saturday (August 27th) Sophomore defensive specialist Kori Still became the first in program history with 40 games played when she appeared in the first game against West Georgia. Fellow sophomore defensive specialist Kallee McKinney joined her in the club during the second game against Clark Atlanta. 

1. Kori Still (41) 2. Kallee McKinney (40) 3. Jessica Beckner (39) 4. Alex Boydstone (37) 5. Annie Messler (30)  6. Lily Hidalgo, Joha Bernis (29) 7. Chase Vaigneur (27) 8. Sophie Bearden, Shelby Mullins (26) 9. Ginger Truncale, Lorin Tidick (23) 10. Amber Cunningham (20) 11. Emily DeBerry (16) 12. Hailey Hart, Alex Pierre, Gray Miller (14) 13. Marie Ahern (13) 14. Haley King (8) 15. Mikaela Chappelear (5) 16. Rojina Jafari-Naeini (4)  17. Shelby Mullins, Mollie Lawrence, Nicole Klucharich (3) 18. Jamie Thomas (2) 19. Abby Schirm (1)

With the season officially starting next Thursday, let's take a look at what 2022 can hold for several members of the roster. Sophomore forward Saad Maziane can move further into the NCAA-era top ten for goals. He's currently tenth with 19 but Seba Andreassen and Marco Micaletto are tied for eighth with 21 and Lewis Hilton sits seventh with 25. He can also move into the top ten with just three more points, as he's currently at 46 and Alex Wyper and Paco Craig have 48. His eight assists is four shy of moving into the NCAA-era top fifteen in a third category. It's worth noting, as well, that he's started twenty-five of his twenty-seven appearances.  Sophomore midfielder Mikkel Goeling is also in the top fifteen with 14 goals (thirteenth) and 33 points (tied for thirteenth) with his five assists. He's started all twenty of his appearances.  Sophomore defender Quinn Thompson can move up the NCAA-era top fifteen for career assists. He's currently tied for elev...

1. 39 ( Jessica Beckner )  2. 38 ( Kori Still ) 3. 37 ( Kallee McKinney ) 4. 34 ( Alex Boydstone ) 5. 30 (Annie Messler) 6. 26 ( Lily Hidalgo , Joha Bernis ) 7. 24 ( Chase Vaigneur ) 8. 23 ( Shelby Mullins , Ginger Truncale, Sophie Bearden )  9. 20 (Amber Cunningham, Lorin Tidick ) 10. 16 (Emily DeBerry) 11. 14 (Hailey Hart, Alex Pierre , Gray Miller) 12. 13 (Marie Ahern) 13. 7 ( Haley King ) 14. 5 (Mikaela Chappelear) 15. 4 ( Rojina Jafari-Naeini ) Bolded and italicized = returning athletes   

A look at the roster for the upcoming season reveals that Jessica Beckner is returning for her graduate year.  She currently has 71 appearances between 39 for volleyball and 32 for basketball, which is tied with former baseball pitcher Tyler Isbell and women's lacrosse alumni Rachel Lepine, Kelsey Dover and Leigh Anne Turner. A seventy-second appearance will tie her with men's soccer alumnus Ilija Ilic, the NCAA-era record holder with 159 points, 64 goals and 31 assists. A seventy-third appearance will draw her level with JB Charles (men's basketball), Alex Wyper (men's soccer) and Hannah Sacristan (women's lacrosse). With seventy-four appearances she will equal men's basketball alumnus Bryson Robertson and women's lacrosse alumnus Erika Cross. She will join men's soccer alumni Macauley King and Val Feeney and softball alumnus Katie-Jo Gentry with a seventy-fifth appearance. With seventy-six appearances she will join Khurram Shazad (men's soccer) an...

After three scrimmages with two at home, the season will officially open August 25th against Wingate and August 28th against Tusculum. In three games against the Tusculum Pioneers, the Mountain Lions are 1-1-1.  Wednesday, August 31st will be the first road game of the season at Carson-Newman. C-N has the edge in the series, winning three of the five games.  Monday, September 5th will be another road game, this time at Montevallo. Each side has won three encounters out of six played.  Saturday, September 10th Young Harris return home to face Georgia College. GC has a slight advantage in the eleven-game series, as they've won six.  Wednesday, September 14th will be a Dahlonega game at the always-challenging North Georgia Nighthawks for an installment in the year-long Battle of Blood Mountain. NG has a dominant edge, as they've won eleven of twelve encounters.   Saturday, September 17th will see YHC return home against the Rams of Albany State. Young Harris has no...