JOHNSON CITY, TENN. (Nov. 1, 2019) — ETSU’s volleyball team recorded their 11^th sweep of the season with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-15) victory over the Mercer Bears on Friday evening. The Blue and Gold were led by Kaela Massey (Brentwood, Tenn.) who logged a .667 hitting percentage with 10 kills on 15 attempts.

With the victory, ETSU improves to 19-4 (10-1 SoCon) as Mercer falls to 11-14 (4-8 SoCon).

Set 1 (25-18 ESTU): After the Bears got the first point of the match, ETSU went on a 6-1 run to hold an early advantage. Mercer inched close cutting the lead to two at 10-8, but the Bucs scored the next three to force a Mercer timeout down five. ETSU capped off a 6-0 run to double Mercer’s score up 16-8. Mercer went on a 6-2 run late in the set to force an ETSU timeout up 22-17. After the timeout, the Bucs scored three out of the next four points to take the first set 25-18.

Set 2 (25-15 ETSU): The Bucs came out of the second set firing to take a lead off of six straight serves from Abbie Trantham (Candler, N.C.). Mercer inched back to come within one at 9-8, but the Bucs prevailed and ultimately held a 16-12 advantage. The Bucs continued their run to hold a 20-13 lead and finished the set with a 5-2 run to take a 2-0 advantage in the match. Massey hit 1.000 in the second frame with five kills on five swings.

Set 3 (25-15 ETSU): ETSU started the third set like the second with a quick run on four straight points. The Blue and Gold held an 18-8 advantage late in the set which was all they needed to secure a win. The Blue and Gold capitalized on two errors from the Bears to take the set 25-15.

Key stats:

• Massey had her third performance of the season with a .667 hitting percentage or better. The senior finished the match with 10 kills on 15 swings and three blocks.
• Emily Arnold (Louisville, Ky.) quarterbacked the Blue and Gold offense with 29 assists and three kills.
• Lundyn Coffman (Nolensville, Tenn.) was 6-for-10 offensively and led the team with four blocks.
• Lauren Hatch (Homewood, Ill.) tallied double-digit kills once again with 13 kills.
• Marija Popovic (Belgrade, Serbia) led the match with 14 digs in the back row.
• ETSU out-blocked Mercer seven to five.

Inside the numbers:

• Massey has had zero errors in four matches this season.
• The Bucs held the lead in the match since holding a 2-1 advantage in the first set.

The Bucs are back in action tomorrow to host Chattanooga. First serve is set for 8 p.m. Fans can follow the action on Twitter and with live stats.

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