Friday, November 16, 2001

Johnson City, Tenn. (Nov. 16, 2001) - East Tennessee State senior setter Carey Cavanaugh (Munroe Falls, Ohio) today was named the Southern Conference Volleyball Player-of-the-Year at the conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Cavanaugh had an outstanding 2001 season, ranking among the Southern Conference leaders in many categories. She finished the regular season second in the conference in assists (11.57 per game), sixth in hitting percentage (.313) and seventh in digs (3.22 pg). She led the Bucs in all three categories. For her career, Cavanaugh is one of ETSU's all-time greats. She notched her 1,000th assist of the season last Friday night against Davidson, the second time that she has accomplished the feat. That match also pushed her over 3,000 assists for her career, one of only four players in school history to reach that mark. That number is even more amazing considering the fact that Cavanaugh reached 3,000 in just three seasons, after transferring from Ohio State. Cavanaugh led the Bucs to a 20-5 record in regular season play, 15-5 in the Southern Conference. The team had their third consecutive winning season, a feat not accomplished since the Bucs reeled off seven consecutive winning seasons from 1987-1993. ETSU also had a ten-match winning streak from early September to early October, tying the school record, set in 1987. The Bucs' 15 Southern Conference wins are also a school record, surpassing the previous record of 14, set in 1999. The Bucs are the second seed in the Southern Conference Tournament, their highest seeding since Kelly Andrews led ETSU to the second seed in the 1992 tournament. ETSU will face off against in-state rival and seventh-seeded Chattanooga Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in the first round of the tournament from Fleming Gym in Greensboro, N.C.