MACON, Ga. (Oct. 17, 2008) - The ETSU volleyball team was swept by Mercer Friday night at the University Center in Macon, Ga., 3-0 (23-25, 14-25, 22-25).

"Mercer played a very aggressive game and attacked our weaknesses," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "Unfortunately we did not have any answer for them, and we need to get back to being consistent and minimizing our errors in key moments."

The Bucs (7-12, 4-7 A-Sun) were led by Whitney Cogburn (Kingsport, Tenn.) as she tallied seven kills and 19 assists in the match. Freshmen Mallory Kiley (Palm Harbor, Fla.) and McKayla Barber (Columbus, Ind.) each collected six kills, while Jen Neice (Allen, Texas) led the Bucs in the back with 18 digs.

Mercer came out playing hot, as the Bears took advantage of an early five-point run to jump out to an 18-10 lead. ETSU battled back in the first set with a five-point run of its own. The Bucs got within a point, 23-22, but the Bears took the set after an Erica Vrvilo kill and an ETSU service error, 25-23.

Despite playing well to come back in the first set, the Bucs were not able to find an answer to stop Mercer in the second set. The Bears jumped out to an 11-2 advantage after an eight-point run and did not look back as Mercer took the set, 25-24. The lone bright spot in the set was Amanda Youell (Middleburg, Fla.) as she had three kills hitting .500 (3-0-6).

The third set went back and forth as the Bucs jumped out in front 5-3, but Mercer came back to take a 10-7 lead after a couple three-point runs by the Bears. ETSU worked its way back in front 17-15 after a couple errors by Mercer, but the Bears took advantage of a couple ETSU errors down the stretch taking the third set 25-22.

The Bucs are back in action on Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. facing Kennesaw State on the road. Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information on ETSU volleyball or any other Buccaneer athletic team.