By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin head volleyball and beach volleyball coach Jaclynn Wilson has announced a trio of additions for the upcoming season. Josie Hess will play both volleyball and beach volleyball in 2023-24 while Sydney Eckhardt and Reagan McGee will suit up for the Skyhawk beach volleyball team during the spring semester.
Hess (Parkland College) and Eckhardt (Jacksonville) each bring collegiate experience to UT Martin while McGee is a freshman out of Norfolk Academy. These three join the red-hot Skyhawk volleyball/beach volleyball programs who have combined to win five Ohio Valley Conference championships in the last two seasons.
Josie Hess, DS, 5-8, Jr., Champaign, Ill. (Parkland College)
Comes to UT Martin after a record-setting run at the prestigious Parkland College program based out of Champaign, Ill., where she played under head coach Cliff Hastings…Was part of a Cobra squad that went 111-6 (.949 winning percentage) in her two seasons, including a NJCAA national championship in 2021 and a national third-place finish in 2022…Scooped up a school record 1,762 digs (5.85 career digs per set) in 100 career matches while also ranking in the program’s all-time top-10 with 141 service aces…Led the NJCAA Division II ranks in digs in each of her two seasons in a Parkland uniform…Played in 156 sets as a sophomore, registering 924 digs (5.92 per set), 62 service aces and 116 assists…Took part in three matches with 30 digs or more and 18 matches with at least 20 digs in 2022…Compiled a season-best 36 digs on Aug. 20 against Johnson County…Landed multiple service aces on 17 separate occasions, including a season-high five aces against Rock Valley on Aug. 27…Established a career-high with six assists against both Heartland (Sept. 21) and Lincoln Trail (Oct. 23)…Had 838 digs (5.78 per set) to go along with 79 service aces and 75 assists as a freshman in 2021, receiving NJCAA All-Region 24 second team and All-Mid-West Athletic Conference first team accolades…Was named to the NJCAA Division II National Championship All-Tournament Team…Came away with four matches of at least 30 digs and 20 matches with at least 20 digs…Accumulated a career-best 38 digs in just four sets against Kansas City Kansas on Oct. 15…Dropped in multiple service aces on 21 separate occasions, including eight matches of at least four aces…Career-high six service aces came on Nov. 6 against John Wood…Distributed a season-best five assists in the NJCAA Tournament opener against Richard Bland on Nov. 18…Prepped at Mahomet-Seymour High School, where she was a standout under head coach Stan Bergman…Won the Defensive Player of the Year award and All-Apollo Conference first team honors as a senior, helping the team go 14-2 overall with an undefeated record in league play…Guided the Bulldogs to the IHSA regional championship during her junior campaign…Was named the Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Apollo Conference second team as a sophomore.
Sydney Eckhardt, 5-8, Jr., Readington, NJ (Jacksonville)
Joins the Skyhawk beach volleyball squad after two seasons under head coach Dylan Hough at Jacksonville University, members of the ASUN Conference…Registered 31 individual victories while helping the Dolphins to single-season records for wins in both years (10 in 2022, 13 in 2023)…Teamed up with Olivia Szyszkiewicz for 15 victories in 2023, posting 13 wins at No. 2 and two more out of the No. 3 slot in the lineup…Managed a team-best 16 wins in 2022, joining forces with Emily Kubicsko to set school records for single-season victories at the No. 2 position (15) and most overall wins by a freshman (16)…Also tacked on a victory at No. 1 during her collegiate rookie campaign…Prepped at Hunterdon Central Regional, where she was an outside hitter on the indoor volleyball for head coach Kevin Jones…Helped guide the Red Devils to a conference championship, a state sectional finals appearance and a top-10 ranking in the state…Was ranked as the No. 3 beach volleyball collegiate prospect in the state of New Jersey for her class…Was part of the Stars and Stripes beach volleyball club program.
Reagan McGee, 5-9, Fr., Norfolk, Va. (Norfolk Academy)
Was part of the highly successful Beach Elite 18 Adidas Black club program that produced 10 college signees under coaches David Brooks, Sinisa Momic and Meghan Peji…Was a USA Volleyball Beach National Championship bid winner in 2023…Won first place with Brooke Cunningham as her partner out of 13 pairs at the Girls 18U level of the USA Volleyball Beach Tour – Old Dominion – Tidewater Fall National Qualifier in August 2022 in Virginia Beach…Also earned top-10 finishes alongside Cunningham at the Old Dominion – Tidewater Fall BNQ (third), Old Dominion – Tidewater Summer National Qualifier (fourth), the Carolina Grand Slam National Qualifier (fifth) and the USA Volleyball Beach National Championship (ninth) on the USA Volleyball Beach Tour in 2022…Placed second in the 16U division with Cunningham at the Old Dominion Tidewater BNQ and ninth at the Carolina Grand Slam BNQ in 2021…Played outside hitter under head coach Trish Hopkins for the Norfolk Academy indoor volleyball program, helping the Bulldogs win the Tidewater Conference championship as a junior.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
