An ETSU Legacy

VOLLEYBALL SOPHOMORE CONTINUES FAMILY TRADITION

The transfer portal may be a polarizing topic in collegiate athletics, but for one incoming transfer at ETSU, it provided a second chance at finding “home” and continued a family legacy.

Meet Amanda Lowe.

Lowe is new to the ETSU volleyball team, but she is no stranger to Johnson City.

Her mother, Kim (McAlister) Lowe, graduated from ETSU in 1991 and worked as the Director of Student Activities and Student Affairs, and her maternal grandparents — Douglas and Patsy McAlister — and uncle Sean are also graduates.

Now, the family has a new reason to be involved.

“I feel like I have at least 10 people cheering me on at every game,” said Lowe, a sophomore outside hitter.

The Lowe family has a background in athletics. Her father, David, played football at Wake Forest, and her older sister, Ali, played volleyball at the University of Alabama.

When Amanda chose Virginia Tech after finishing up at Blacksburg High School, she said her parents were excited she chose to stay home. But after one season, she wanted a change of scenery.

“I got there, and it was good, but it wasn’t where I fit,” she said. “When I decided to transfer, I found ETSU, which is everything I was looking for. The school, the coaching staff, the girls on the team. Everything that I was looking for was here, and I didn’t know it until I transferred.”

Thanks to her family connections, Lowe had an idea of what East Tennessee was like.

“We would always come to the area for Christmas because my family lived in Gray, which is right nearby,” she said. “So, we visited East Tennessee a lot. I was a casual Buc fan then and would always root for them in anything, but I wasn’t a diehard fan. But I am now!”

Lowe plans to finish her career at ETSU, which brings joy to her grandfather Douglas McAlister, a past ETSU Alumni Board president.

“I am delighted with Amanda’s decision to pursue her academic and volleyball career at ETSU,” said McAlister. “As a family of ETSU graduates, we all know the educational value the university provides. No one should ever underestimate the value of a degree from ETSU and its impact on their lifelong future success.”

So far in her ETSU volleyball career, Lowe has contributed to the team’s success with the third-most kills on the team (130) and fifth-most points (143.5). She also had a big moment during ETSU’s Buccaneer Classic, being named tournament MVP with 29 kills over three matches and a steady .383 attack percentage. ETSU head coach Benavia Jenkins said Lowe’s connection to ETSU got the ball rolling, but her passion is what brought her to the Bucs.

“Our first conversation was easy,” said Jenkins, in her fourth season at the helm. “She’s one of those players that wants to have a relationship with her coaches, and that was important to her when deciding where to go. When we invited her and her parents to campus, her mom got to see some of her old friends at the Culp Center, and that was fun. I told Amanda, ‘Don’t just stop here; go and take your other visits and see if this is really where you want to be,’ but she said, ‘No, I want to be here and build my legacy here.’ ”

Now that she’s here, Lowe has a new favorite thing about ETSU.

“The team,” she said. “I love the team here so much and the people. They’ve been so welcoming, and the coaching staff is amazing. I couldn’t ask for better coaches. With the transfer portal, you never know what you’re going to get, but they were upfront and honest. And they care about every one of us and want us to succeed as a team and individually, on and off the court.”

Lowe is majoring in communications with a minor in sociology, which she says fits her outgoing personality and provides broader options after graduation. She isn’t sure what the future holds, but she’s never been surer about her decision to come to ETSU.

“I love it here,” she said. “I’m glad I chose here. This is the place for me. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Mike Ezekiel is Associate Director for Communications in ETSU Athletics. | Photo by Dakota Hamilton