Friday, September 23, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 23, 2005) - The East Tennessee State volleyball team edged Campbell 31-29, 33-31, in games three and four, as the Lady Bucs downed the Fighting Camels, 3-1, to earn the victory in their first-ever Atlantic Sun contest, Friday night in Brooks Gym. 

Junior Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario) led the Buccaneer offense with 16 kills, while senior Katie Longden (Fort Dodge, Ill.) stepped up defensively, tallying a career-best 20 digs.  The Lady Bucs improve to 8-5, 1-0 in the A-Sun.

Down 29-23 in the third frame, ETSU rallied with eight-consecutive points tying the Camels at 29, and surging past to a 31-29 victory.  Freshman Betsy Jones (Crawfordville, Fla.) put the Lady Bucs ahead, notching her second kill in as many plays on an assist from junior Brittany Kessel (Libertyville, Ill.), to make the score 30-29. 

Senior Sara Scandiffio (Purcellville, Va.) and sophomore Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) would put the game away, combining to block an attack by Campbell's Tabitha Turner to secure the win.

Sartor paced the Lady Bucs in the frame with six kills, followed by Jones with four of her career-high nine.

"We didn't want our opponent to control the outcome," said head coach Lindsey Devine on her team's third-game surge.  "When the ball entered our side of the court, we took control and took it one point at a time."

Game four was a battle all the way, as ETSU's largest lead in the frame was a mere three points.  With the score tied 29-29, the teams traded points beginning with a kill by Sartor, to take the 30-29 lead.  Campbell answered with a kill by Turner, evening the score at 30-30.  ETSU took the lead once again, as Sartor belted another kill for the 31-30 lead. 

Turner would respond again with one more kill from teammate Sarah Dillon, who led the Camels with 29 assists on the night.  Kessel then reacted with a kill from Jennifer Emerson (Santa Clara, Calif.) giving ETSU the 32-31.  Sarah Buhr (Stockton, Calif.) would put the Lady Bucs ahead for good, nailing her tenth kill of the evening on an Emerson assist, to guarantee the 33-31 win.

Junior Crystal Palmer (Chico, Calif.) blasted five kills in the fourth frame, on her way to a season-high 14 kills.  Palmer and Jones both belted a match-high .400 in the win.  Sartor swung .323 for the match.

"Betsy Jones did a great job stepping in," said Devine of the rookie.  "It's great to see a freshman come in add to the success of the team.  Crystal Palmer also stepped up her game.  She'd been in the gym all week and played like we all knew she could."

The Camels, now 5-10, 0-1, stole the opening game 30-24, before the Lady Bucs bounced back to take the first of their three-straight victories, winning 30-22 in game two.  Alissa Brackeen led the Campbell attack with 15 attacks, with Turner and Rachel Templin chipping in with 12 and 10, respectively.  Camel libero paced Campbell's defensive effort with a match-high 22 digs.

 Also playing well for ETSU, Emerson tallied 31 assists, while Kessel added 27.  Defensively, Kiselich totaled one solo and nine block assists, as Scandiffio managed one solo and eight assists.

The Lady Bucs will take the weekend off, before returning to Brooks Gym to take on King College on Monday, September 26, beginning at 7 p.m.