Saturday, October 24, 2009

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 24, 2009) - Despite rallying to send the match to a fifth set, the ETSU volleyball team saw its comeback fall short as the Bucs fell to Kennesaw State on Saturday night in Brooks Gym, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 35-33, 8-15).

"It was a disappointing loss for us tonight," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "Our girls showed what they are capable of at times, but Kennesaw State is a good team and they kept fighting throughout the match. The girls really rallied in the fourth set to take the match to five sets. I think if we do a better job with our block in the first and third sets then the game wouldn't have gone five sets."

The Bucs had three players post a double-double and five with double-digit kills. Whitney Cogburn (Kingsport, Tenn.) tallied 12 kills, 13 digs and five blocks on the night, while Amanda Youell (Middleburg, Fla.) just missed a triple-double with seven kills, 59 assists and 11 digs. Desiree Dyck (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) also had a double-double with ten kills and 14 digs.

McKayla Barber (Columbus, Ind.) had a good night as she totaled 13 kills hitting .522 with five blocks, while Alysa Long (Romulus, Mich.) led the Buccaneers with a team-high 15 kills. Jen Neice (Allen, Texas) led ETSU defensively with 16 digs.

ETSU got out to a 10-7 lead in the first set. The Bucs increased their lead to 19-13 after a 7-2 run, but the Owls answered with a 10-4 run to tie the set at 23-all. Kennesaw State took the last six points of the set as they went on to win the set 25-23.

In the second set, the Owls went in front 10-6, but the Buccaneers rallied taking four-straight points to tie the match, 10-10. With the score tied 20-all after nine ties and three lead changes, ETSU went on a 5-1 run to take the second set 25-21 and even the match at 1-all going into the break.

After ETSU took an early 7-4 lead in the third set, Kennesaw State used a 10-2 run to take a 14-9 advantage. The Owls didn't relinquish the lead in the set as they won the set 25-23 on a Sabrita Gulley kill to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set saw a season-high 68 points as there were 16 ties and nine lead changes in the set. The Owls had a 23-21 lead late in the set, but the Bucs got big kills from Dyck and Barber to tie the set at 23-all. Play went back and forth until the Bucs got a huge block from Erin Ryan (Davie, Fla.) and Barber to go ahead 34-33. ETSU won the set on the next play as Ryan got the kill to even the match, 2-2.

Kennesaw State took a 3-1 lead in the fifth set, but the Bucs rallied back to tie the set at 6-all. The Owls then went on a 9-2 run to take the match on an Asjia Stokes kill, 15-8.

 The Bucs (8-15, 6-8 A-Sun) are back in action next Friday at 7 p.m. as they host conference rival Mercer in Brooks Gym. For more information on Buccaneer volleyball and all other Buccaneer athletic news, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.