Sunday, September 03, 2000

The Buccaneer womens volleyball team opened its season with a 1-3 record this weekend at the University of North Carolina Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C.

On September 1, ETSU opened the event with a 0-3 (13-15, 7-15, 13-15) loss to the University of Pittsburgh. Junior Amber Ciskowski (14 kills, 10 digs) and freshman Rachel Shifflett (12 kills, 12 digs) led the offense and defense. The Panthers Stacy Renick recorded game highs in kills (16) and digs (23).

The Bucs next captured a 3-0 win against Hofstra (15-11, 15-9, 15-13). Senior Courtney Sussillo had 13 kills in 20 attempts for a team-best .600 hitting percentage. Shifflett added 12 kills in the win. Junior Carey Cavanaugh had 30 assists and 17 digs.

September 2 began with a five-set loss to Coastal Carolina (6-15, 15-5, 14-16, 15-12, 7-15). Shifflett (16), senior Jena Policastro (15) and Cavanaugh (10) all had double-digit kill efforts. Cavanaugh added 36 assists to spark the offense. Shifflett and Sussillo both had three service aces.

In the final match, North Carolina proved to be a rude host as they handed the Bucs a 3-0 loss (12-15, 4-15, 0-15).

ETSU returns to action on Tuesday, September 5 when they host Southern Conference rival Western Carolina at 7 p.m. in Brooks Gym.