CULLOWHEE, N.C. (Feb. 28, 2021) – The ETSU Volleyball team began their season series against the Western Carolina Catamounts on Sunday afternoon looking to bounce back after consecutive SoCon losses. The shorthanded Bucs suffered their third-straight set back as WCU won in three sets (25-13, 25-17, 25-20).   

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set 1 (25-13 WCU): In her first start of the season, Sidney Sherrill recorded the first kill of the match for the Buccaneers. Fresh into the game to serve, Sydney Allen slotted the first ace of the match to put ETSU up 3-2. Western Carolina had the first run of the set and went up 11-6. The Catamounts went up 15-10 at the first-set media timeout. After the timeout, WCU concluded the set on a 10-3 run to take a 1-0 advantage.

Six Buccaneers accounted for their seven kills as the Catamounts outhit ETSU .385 - .027 in the set.

Set 2 (25-17 WCU): WCU began the set with a 3-0 lead and never gave that lead up. Jenna Forster tied the frame at seven with her second kill of the match. From that point on, Western Carolina took control with a 5-1 run and later a 7-1 run. Forster led the set with eight kills, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Catamounts’ .455 hitting percentage. Esposito added five kills on seven swings in the frame to hit .714. ETSU hit a match-high .270 in the set, but weren’t able to force any Catamount errors as WCU took a 2-0 lead in the match.  

Set 3 (25-20 WCU): For the first time in the match, the Bucs held a three-point lead early in the set. The Bucs led 5-2 with two kills from Mattress and Makenna Phillips’ (Candler, N.C.) first career kill. The third set went back-and-forth and was the most competitive to this point as neither team was able to run away with it. The Catamounts were the first to 15 and held a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. The Bucs tied the match at 19 and the Catamounts won the next four point with two blocks to hold a 22-18 lead. After Coach Jenkins took her second timeout, Emily Arnold (Louisville, Ky.) stopped WCU’s run with her second kill of the day. The Bucs came back within three (23-20), but the Catamounts completed the sweep with a kill and an ETSU attack error.

KEY STATS

• Forster was the only Buc in double figures with 11 kills, she added a block and seven digs.
• Sydney Cherney (Knoxville, Tenn.) recorded 12 digs and three assists, while Staley Humphries (Kingsport, Tenn.) had 10 digs and one helper.
• Arnold picked up her first double-double of the year with 27 assists and 11 digs. She also garnered two kills on five attempts.
• Sara Esposito (Venezia, Italy) was second on the squad with nine kills, while Mattress had six.
• Sophomore middle blocker, Lundyn Coffman (Maryville, Tenn.), accounted for just four swings on the afternoon, but three of those resulted in a kill for a .750 hitting percentage.
• Western Carolina’s Julia Gardon led all players with 13 kills on 32 swings, while Merry Gebel was just behind her teammate with 12 of 31.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ETSU falls to 4-3 in the SoCon, while WCU improves to .500 at 4-4 in league play and 4-6 overall.
• The Catamounts hit above .380 in the first and second set. WCU outhit the Bucs .347 - .153 in the match.
• This was the first match all season that Forster led the team in kills, while it was her second with 11, her career high set in the season opener.
• ETSU had eight players record a kill for the second time in three matches.
• The Bucs’ win streak over the Catamounts was halted at five matches. WCU now leads the all-time series, 44-41. 

UP NEXT
The two teams close out the series Monday evening at 5 p.m.