Service aces and kills boost Bucs to sixth straight win

GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 7, 2022) – ETSU volleyball posted a season-high 12 service aces and hit over .300 for the fourth time this season on Friday, sweeping UNC Greensboro inside Fleming Gym for its sixth straight win.

The Bucs are now 11-6 on the season and remain the only unbeaten team in Southern Conference play at 5-0. UNCG falls to 8-10 overall and 2-3 in the SoCon. ETSU has won 11 of its last 12 games.

Sophomore setter Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) and graduate libero Taylor Roberts (Sneads, Fla.) tallied career-highs on the serve with Dykes racking up seven aces and Roberts adding four. Senior Lundyn Coffman (Nolensville, Tenn.) had the other.

Additionally, the Bucs out-killed UNCG 43-25 and held the Spartans to under .100 on the attack. The Bucs finished with a .307 percentage with just 12 errors on 101 attacks.

Freshman Brianna Cantrell (Appleton, Wis.) led with 12 kills and three blocks, while Coffman added 10 kills and a kill. Junior Jenna Forster (Maryville, Tenn.) had nine kills for the match, including five on six attacks in the first set. All three hitters had at least a .300 percentage led by Coffman at .474 and Forster at .471.

Dykes added 35 assists and nine digs to her seven digs for a near triple-double bid. Senior Sydney Churney (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the Bucs with 11 digs, while Roberts and sophomore Haley Sanders (Brentwood, Tenn.) had seven apiece.

ETSU came out swinging in the first set, led by five early kills from Forster on just six attacks for an .833 percentage in the frame. The Bucs never trailed and owned a .286 to .129 hit percentage advantage. Coffman, Cantrell and Rammel added three kills each, while Lowe had two in the set.

The second set brought more of the same, though UNCG took the first point. After that, ETSU went on a 9-0 run with three service aces from Dykes and a pair of kills from Cantrell in that span. The Bucs finished with 15 kills on 22 attempts with no errors for an attention-grabbing .682 attack percentage.

UNCG showed some life in the third set, leading the early stages. Dykes and company went back to work though, using two aces by Roberts to tie things up at 8-8, then three consecutive service aces by Dykes to take a three-point lead. The Bucs would never trail again from that point on, winning in straight sets.

The Bucs wrap up their four-game road swing tomorrow with a getaway game at Western Carolina. First serve is set for 6 p.m. in Cullowhee, N.C.

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball page.