Friday, September 18, 2009

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 18, 2009) - The ETSU volleyball team held on to defeat Kennesaw State Friday night at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennsaw, Ga., 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 17-15).

"We were aggressive for the entire five sets tonight," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "We played disciplined and great on defense, and everyone who stepped out on the floor contributed for us."

Erin Ryan (Davie, Fla.) led the way offensively for the Bucs with a team-high 17 kills, while Desiree Dyck (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) posted a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Alysa Long (Romulus, Mich.) and McKayla Barber (Columbus, Ind.) each posted 11 kills and five blocks in the match.

Whitney Cogburn (Kingsport, Tenn.) had a good all-around performance tallying seven kills, nine assists and 12 digs, while Amanda Youell (Middleburg, Fla.) reached 50 plus assists for the second time on the season as she had 50 assists, five kills, eight digs and five blocks on the night.

"McKayla and Alysa were strong in the middle and opened up the outside for hitters," Devine said. "Erin and Desiree really took advantage at key points putting the ball away for us, and we did great in the back digging up balls and keeping us in the game. The whole team showed a lot of heart and I am glad we got this road win."

In the first set, the Bucs jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. ETSU used a 6-1 run late in the set to take a 22-15 advantage. The Bucs closed out the set on a Dyck kill to win the set 25-19.

Play was back and fourth in the second set until the Owls went on a 7-1 run to take a 12-6 lead. ETSU battled back to cut the KSU lead to 15-13, but Kennesaw State answered with another 7-1 run to jump out to a 22-14 advantage. The Eagles held on to win the set on a Sabrita Gulley kill, 25-21.

ETSU jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the third set. The Bucs saw their lead dwindle as the Owls tied the set at 15-all on a Chelsea Denesha service ace. Play was tight until with the score tied 21-21 the Bucs took four of the last five points to take the set 25-21, and a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Bucs looked strong in the fourth set as they used a 7-2 run to take a 17-10 advantage. KSU answered with an 8-3 rally to tie the match at 20-all. The Owls closed out the set on a 5-1 run, 25-21.

In the final set, there were eight ties and two lead changes as neither team could jump out to a big lead. With the score tied at 15-all, ETSU caught a break on a KSU attack error to go up 16-15. The Bucs then won the match on a big block by Barber and Youell to win the set 17-15.

The Bucs (4-7, 3-1 A-Sun) are back in action tomorrow at 3 p.m. as they head to Macon, Ga. to take on Mercer. For more information on Buccaneer volleyball and all other Buccaneer athletic news, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.