Friday, October 20, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (October 20, 2006) - The Volley Bucs fell behind two games to none in their pivotal conference match with Belmont, but recovered, winning three consecutive games and claiming sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference.  It is the first victory in school history over Belmont, and extends the Lady Bucs win streak to a school-record tying 10 matches.

"Our earlier games this season prepared us for tonight," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "Our outside hitters came alive in the last three games, both hitting and blocking.  We've struggled with blocking this season, but we stepped it up tonight and it was the deciding factor in this victory."

Belmont (18-4, 5-1 A-Sun) out-hit the Lady Bucs in each of the first two games, taking a three-point and a nine-point victory for a commanding 2-0 match lead, but the Lady Bucs emerged from the locker room following intermission a different team.

Senior Sarah Buhr (Stockton, Calif.) led ETSU with seven kills in the tide-turning third frame, hitting .462 with 13 attacks and just one error.  Fellow senior Crystal Palmer (Chico, Calif.) contributed five of her 17 kills in the three-point victory as well.

The Lady Bucs (19-5, 6-0) rallied from a five-point deficit in game four, and scored seven of the game's final eight points to even the match at two games apiece with the 30-26 win.  Palmer paced ETSU through the fourth frame, adding seven kills to her total, followed by four more from Buhr, as well as four from senior Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario).

A balanced attack in game five propelled the Lady Bucs to victory, as Palmer, Sartor and Buhr all contributed two kills, along with two from junior Michelle Mislan (Indianapolis, Ind.).  Senior Nani Emerson (Tracy, Calif.) dished out eight of her team-high 59 assists in the final frame, while junior Kaena Apana (Waianae, Hawaii) dug out four of her match-high 29 balls.

Sartor ended the night with a match-high 19 kills, leading the team with a .302 hitting percentage.

The Lady Bucs are back in action Saturday, October 21 against Lipscomb at 2 p.m. in Brooks Gym.  The squad will celebrate senior day as well, honoring its four seniors prior to the match.