Saturday, October 29, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (October 29, 2005) - The East Tennessee State volleyball team put an exclamation point on its Senior Day festivities on Saturday, posting a 3-0 win (30-25, 30-26, 30-23) over Atlantic Sun Conference foe Stetson, in Brooks Gym.  In a balanced offensive effort, Lady Bucs Crystal Palmer (Chico, Calif.), Sarah Buhr (Stockton, Calif.), and Sara Scandiffio (Purcellville, Va.) tallied 10 kills apiece in the victory.  Buhr tallied her second double-double in as many days, adding a match-best 16 digs. 

The Lady Bucs improve to 17-10 overall, 3-5 in the A-Sun, while the Hatters drop to 8-15, 2-7 in Conference.  The win also keeps the Lady Bucs in the running for one of final two remaining spots in next month's A-Sun tournament.

"It was a great comeback after yesterday's loss, and a great win for our seniors," said ETSU head coach Lindsey Devine.  "We spread the offense well, and I was very pleased with our mental focus.  We knew we had to come out and play with pride, and we demonstrated that from beginning to end."

The Lady Bucs came out strong in game one, hitting .273 to Stetson's .150.  ETSU got six kills off the arm of Buhr, and another four from Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario).  The Lady Bucs dominated throughout, leading by as many as eight points.  Sartor secured the game-point for ETSU, with a kill on an assist from Jennifer Emerson (Santa Clara, Calif.).  Emerson dished out a match-high 23 assists.

Stetson hung around for most of game two, only allowing the Lady Bucs a narrow one-point lead through most of the later portion of the frame.  Sartor guaranteed the stanza for the Lady Bucs once again, slamming another kill on an Emerson assist, to make the score 30-26.  Palmer led the Bucs in the frame, hitting .500 with six kills.

In a fitting senior send off, Scandiffio belted the final kill of the match, claiming the 30-23 victory for her squad in game three, as well as the 3-0 win.  The senior also led the Lady Bucs with four kills in the stanza.

Sartor added nine kills, while Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) tallied eight.  Brittany Kessel totaled 22 assists.  Defensively, Emerson recorded 12 digs, while Kiselich had a hand in six block assists.  Sartor was involved in four block assists and added one solo stop.

Gina Iacona was the top hitter for the Hatter, nailing nine kills.  DeeAnn Dempsey added eight kills, while Susannah Neighbors and Jenny Usher added five apiece.  Liz Gorski led the Hatters defensively with 15 digs.

ETSU hit .186 for the day, ahead of Stetson's .102.  The Lady Bucs tallied 11.0 blocks to the Hatter's seven.

The Lady Bucs' final home match is the season is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 1, when UNC Asheville comes to Brooks Gym for a 7 p.m. start time.  ETSU will then close its A-Sun season with a trip to Boca Raton, Fla., as they take on Conference power Florida Atlantic, on Nov. 5.