GREENVILLE, S.C. (Feb. 1, 2021) — Defense at the net was the difference maker for the ETSU Volleyball team on Monday evening as the Bucs used 14 blocks to take down the Furman Paladins 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-20) on the road.

With the win, ETSU improves to 2-0 (2-0 SoCon) and Furman falls to 0-2 (0-2 SoCon).

How it happened:
Set 1 (25-22 ETSU): After the first set was locked up at one point apiece, ETSU went on a strong 10-2 run. The Blue and Gold used two kills, a block and an ace from Lauren Hatch (Homewood, Ill.) on the run to go up 11-3. The Bucs used a 5-1 run late in the set to separate them after a small Furman comeback. The Paladins cut the lead to one at 21-20, but a kill from from Lundyn Coffman (Nolensville, Tenn.) and two slams from Olivia Cunningham (Knoxville, Tenn.) put the set away for ETSU.

Set 2 (25-16 ETSU): The Bucs dominated the second stanza from start to finish taking a 10-2 lead and ultimately stretched their advantage to 10 at 15-5. Sanne Maring (Groningen, The Netherlands) was relentless in the second set with seven kills and two blocks (one solo). Furman crept into ETSU’s lead and cut it to three at 17-14 but didn’t get any closer. Four kills in ETSU’s final five points for Maring secured the 2-0 lead for the Blue and Gold.  

Set 3 (25-21 FUR): Furman wasn’t ready to go out easily as they battled back to win the third. After the first few points went back-and-forth between the teams, Furman went on a 5-0 run to take a 9-5 lead and never gave it up. The Bucs tied the set twice, but were not able to regain advantage as Furman took the set 25-21.

Set 4 (25-20 ETSU): ETSU did not want to play back-to-back five-set matches. The Bucs took a 10-7 lead in the fourth and able to hold it the rest of the way. With a 20-16 advantage, ETSU used kills from Cunningham, Asia Mattress (Mauldin, S.C.) and three errors by Furman to put the set and match away. The Bucs had three of their eight aces in the fourth frame and hit .216 to close out the contest.  

Key stats:

• In her second match as a Buccaneer, Maring came out strong with a .440 hitting percentage. The senior logged 14 kills in 25 attempts and was a wall defensively with eight blocks (two solo).
• After combining for 40 kills 24 hours ago, Cunningham and Hatch both recorded 13 kills. Cunningham converted her first double-double with 11 digs defensively and also added two blocks, two assists and two aces. Hatch was strong defensively with five blocks and six digs.
• Emily Arnold (Louisville, Ky.) nearly matched her assist total from a day ago with 48 helpers. She added a kill, seven digs and three blocks.
• Mattress was strong off the bench for the Blue and Gold and netted six kills and three blocks while Esposito had two kills and three aces as a sub.
• Freshman defensive specialist, Staley Humphries (Kingsport, Tenn.), entered the stat line for the first time in her career with two aces and three digs.

Inside the numbers:

• 14 kills and eight blocks are both career highs for Maring. Her previous career high at Hofstra was 12 and six respectively.
• Cunningham recorded her eighth career double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs.  
• ETSU has won their last 20 SoCon road matches dating back to Oct. 22, 2017. Their 10 straight road wins is the third-longest active streak in the nation.
• The Bucs’ 14 blocks are the most by the Blue and Gold since the Oct. 11, 2019 against Wofford.
• The Blue and Gold swept the season series against Furman for the fourth time in the last seven years. 

UP NEXT
The Bucs have a bye week this weekend and will host UNCG at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 14 in Brooks Gym for their home opener.

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