Senior setter Tina Eucker recently became the Guilford College Volleyball’s career assist leader. She entered her senior season with 2,373 career assists and has accumulated more since then. During the Quakers’ 3-0 victory over Randolph College on Tuesday, Oct. 15, Eucker broke the previous record of 2,837 assists held by Taylor Whitley ’14.

Eucker was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Volleyball Player of the Week for her performance against Randolph. She is the first Quaker to be awarded this honor since 2010, and the first setter to earn the league’s weekly prize this year.

The honor came during a 3-0 week for the team. She averaged 9.77 assists and 3.15 digs per set in Guilford’s victories.

Eucker has been a leader in assists in the ODAC since her first-year season, when she ranked third among ODAC leaders in assists. Eucker topped the ODAC with 9.65 assists per set during her sophomore and junior season as well.

Not only has Eucker been a leader in the ODAC, but she also stands as a hard-working leader for the Quakers.

“Tina’s hard-working mentality is absolutely unmatched,” said senior Christian Ritter. “She has one of the busiest schedules on the team, but she still has a goal not only for herself, but for the team as well.”

“Tina’s hard work and dedication inspires the team to be their best as well,” said Volleyball Head Coach Emily Gann. “Tina works very hard during the summer to make sure she comes to preseason in shape and ready.”

Eucker’s inspiration comes from her parents through her years playing volleyball.

“My parents have been my biggest support system,” Eucker remarked. “I’m fortunate enough that my parents have attended almost every game since my first year. They have always been there to listen when I get frustrated, advise when I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and remind me to celebrate the love of the game.” 

Just last season, Eucker led the team in assists with 903, assists per set of 9.03, service aces with 33 and service aces per set of 0.33. Eucker also had seven games with 40 or more assists, including a career-high with 51 in a five-set win over Hollins University in 2018.

Eucker sets goals for herself and her team each season.

“One major goal I’ve had for the past four years is to host a first-round game (in the ODAC tournament),” Eucker says. “Another goal I had was I wanted to enjoy every game. We play our best when we’re having fun, and it’s important to remember we all love the sport we play.”

“Tina has grown tremendously as a leader throughout her four seasons,” said Gann.

The team wrapped up the regular season with an 18-7 record, which was good enough to place third out of eight spots in the conference tournament. The team’s #3 seed in the tournament and 18 wins both stand as career highs for Gann’s 14 years of coaching.

Editor’s note: This story originally was published in Volume 106, Issue 5 of The Guilfordian on Nov. 8 2019.