CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College volleyball opens the 2016 season and the Julie Redus Era on Thursday, Sept. 1 as the Lady Choctaws host Spring Hill College and William Carey in a tri-match on the Clinton campus. Match time against Spring Hill is slated for 1 p.m. with the contest against William Carey marked for 5 p.m.
 
The pair of matches marks the first of five matches to open the 2017 season. MC has 15 outings inside A.E. Wood Coliseum this season.
 
A native of Glendale, Ariz., Redus was named the head coach of the program in June. The youngest, head volleyball coach in the Gulf South Conference at 24, served as the assistant coach for the Lady Choctaws last season working primarily with the defense and the teams' service and receive along with recruiting.
 
"Tomorrow will put us to the true test. Regardless of the outcomes, we're itching to get on the floor and play good volleyball," said head coach Julie Redus. "We've got a veteran program in Spring Hill, that won't let us get away with small errors and a first-year program in William Carey, which we can't underestimate. We've been working hard this week on controlling what we ultimately can control and cleaning up our defensive touches. Overall we're looking solid and promising in all aspects of the game. Hopefully we'll be the team that adjusts the quickest and come out with a pair of wins."
 
The first-year head coach returns 14 players from the 2015 season, including six of the top kills leaders. Kayana Mitchell and Jenna Campbell headline the returners with 180-plus kills from a season ago. Mitchell, who ranks ninth in career total blocks with 134 and had 73 blocks last season, led the team with 183 kills last season. Campbell gathered 180 putaways in her debut season.
 
MC returns both key setters from 2015 with Bailee Berringer and Sydney Chandler. Berringer dished out a team-best 481 assists in her first season, which ranked 10th in a single-season. Chandler garnered 368 assists last season to boost her career number to 828 and fourth all-time.
 
Madison Kimes and Shelby Grace Mays held the top two spots among dig leaders last season. Kimes finished with 228 while Mays gathered 227.
 
Spring Hill College head coach Peggy Martin begins her eighth season with the Badgers and has built a 191-50 overall record including a 36-1 mark in the SIAC during the school's first two seasons in the NCAA. SHC is paced by Madison Seuzeneau and Molly Griffin. Seuzeneau led the Badgers with 253 kills in 2015 while Griffin covered the court with 133 kills, 22 aces, 167 digs and 13 total blocks. The Purple and White feature 11 new freshmen faces this season as they enter the third and final year of the program's transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. 
 
This marks the first season of volleyball for William Carey. The addition of the program moves the Crusaders to 17 athletic programs headed into the 2016-17 campaign. Kelsea Seymour heads up the WCU program. The first-year head coach played at the University of Southern Mississippi. As a setter and team leader at Southern Miss, she garnered multiple honors and helped lead the team to the Conference USA Championship in 2009.
 
Mississippi College will return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 6 as it hosts Division I, Mississippi Valley State. Match time is set for 6 p.m.