CLEVELAND, Ga. – Truett McConnell women's volleyball hosts its first Appalachian Athletic Conference of the season at Harris Athletic Complex against Brenau on Friday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
 
Both teams are in the top half of the AAC standings to begin the 2026 campaign. TMU ranks as the third best team while Brenau comes in at sixth place.
 
The Lady Bears and the Tigers meet for the first of two times in 2026. Both teams competed in the Bear Invitational earlier this season but did not cross paths. TMU finished as the tournament runner ups while Brenau fell in the semifinals.
 
The Tigers won both matches in 2025 in straight set victories over the Lady Bears in Gainesville and in Cleveland. However, TMU has the edge in the past eight matchups, winning five of them including both matches in 2024. The past three matches overall have ended in straight sets.
 
Brenau starts the season with a 9-3 overall record which includes a 2-1 mark in AAC play. It won its first two conference matches vs. Columbia International and Spartanburg Methodist before dropping a Tuesday night contest to Reinhardt in straight sets.
 
Ashlyn Browning enters as the top threat on the attack with 2.83 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .248. Clarie Beckman also threatens with her 2.48 k/s and .319 percentage. Both Beckman and Robyn Gray rank in the top three in hitting percentage in the conference, with Gray also being ranked 21^st in the NAIA.
 
On the set, Nathalia Quintero leads the way with 8.59 per set and 352 overall. Her assists average ranks second in the conference. Defensively, Ksenija Sokic averages 4.22 digs per set while Beckman has produced 29 total blocks with 18 block solos.  
 
For the Lady Bears, Faith Clarkson leads the offense with 1.83 kills per set and is hitting .226. Julia Fisher has 1.69 kills per set and 1.35 digs per set defensively. Last time out, Fisher recorded double-digit kills and digs. On the serve, Jade Season, with 18 in total, averages 0.64 aces per set, which ranks second in the conference and 15^th nationally.