Thursday, September 28, 2006

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – For the second consecutive season, the ETSU volleyball squad opened its conference slate with a victory, sweeping past Gardner-Webb 33-31, 30-27, 33-31 Thursday evening in Paul Porter Arena. It is the Lady Bucs’ third straight win, and sixth in their last seven matches.

“It was ugly, but it was a conference win,” said head coach Lindsey Devine. “It’s always good to get that first conference win under your belt on the road.”

The Bulldogs (7-11, 0-1) out-hit ETSU in every game, and held two game points in both the first and the third games, but the Lady Bucs answered the challenge each time, securing their first conference win.

After building a 28-24 lead in the opening frame, the Lady Bucs (12-5, 1-0) allowed a 6-1 Gardner-Webb run, yielding the Bulldogs first game point. Senior Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario) erased the deficit with her second kill of the game.

After garnering another game point, two attack errors and a service ace from junior Kaena Apana (Waianae, Hawaii) gave the Lady Bucs game one. After earning the first point in the second game, ETSU did not lead again until 26-25, falling behind by as many as six points on three occasions.

Trailing 25-23, the Lady Bucs tied the game on consecutive kill from junior Michelle Mislan (Indianapolis, Ind.). Junior Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) gave the Lady Bucs the lead with a service ace, and after reaching game point, another Sartor kill ended the stanza.

The match concluded with yet another nail-biter, as ETSU again allowed a Bulldog rally. The Lady Bucs held a match point at 29-25, but a 5-0 Gardner-Webb run gave the Bulldogs their third game point of the night. Senior Sarah Buhr (Stockton, Calif.) wiped out the game point with her team-high 13th kill of the match, and two Bulldog attack errors yielded a second match point. Sartor then delivered her third game-ending kill of the evening, her ninth of the match.

Senior Jennifer Emerson (Tracy, Calif.) collected a match-high 40 assists on the night, and Apana dug out a match-high 16 balls.

ETSU returns to conference play Saturday evening in Buies Creek, N.C. against Campbell. Match time is slated for 7 p.m.