JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Oct. 16, 2010) - ETSU seniors Alysa Long (Romulus, Mich.) and Lauren Baufield (Plymouth, Minn.) combined to record 18 kills without an error to help lead the Bucs to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17) sweep over North Florida, Saturday afternoon in Atlantic Sun Conference volleyball action at UNF Arena.
The Bucs move to 18-6 overall on the season and more importantly 4-1 in conference play. With the loss, North Florida falls to 5-16 and 2-4 in A-Sun play this season. ETSU has now won their last five contests on the road.
Long and Megan Devine (Kingsport, Tenn.) had 10 kills each. Whitney Cogburn (Kingsport, Tenn.) racked up 33 assists while Kiley Tamblyn (Torrance, Fla.) had 18 digs to lead the ETSU defense.
ETSU got out to an early lead in the opening set, going up 13-6. The Ospreys closed the gap to five several times over the final rallies of the match, but that is as close as they would come as the Bucs claimed the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, UNF went up 6-2, but the Bucs tied the set up at 10. The two teams tied six more times in the set with the last coming at 12. ETSU went on a run to take a 16-13 advantage, but the Ospreys kept it close, staying within three points. The Bucs extended its lead at 23-18, but UNF looked to threaten late, closing the gap to 23-21. Back-to-back kills from Erin Ryan (Davie, Fla.) gave ETSU the points needed for the win.
The Ospreys came out strong in the third set, getting out to a 9-5 lead. UNF maintained the lead and was up 13-10 before ETSU went on a 10-0 run. The Bucs took the final set and the match for their third straight victory.
The Ospreys were led by sophomore Paige Pridgeon with 10 kills. Senior Jessica Catelano added nine kills and freshman Anna Budinska tallied six.
ETSU returns to action on Wednesday as they travel to Spartanburg, S.C. for a non-conference showdown with Wofford. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
For more information on the ETSU volleyball team please go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball link. Also, be sure to follow ETSU Athletics on Facebook and Twitter.
