Friday, August 29, 2003

Blacksburg, Va. (August 29, 2003) - East Tennessee State's volleyball team raced to a 3-0 victory over Campbell Friday night at the Hokie Classic in Blacksburg, Va., as the Buccaneers jumped out to an early 1-0 start to begin the 2003 season. "It felt good to get the first one under our belts," said first-year head coach Lindsey Devine. "Hopefully, over the course of the weekend this win will lay the ground for what we are capable of." In the teams' first-ever meeting, it took ETSU just over an hour to get the job done. The Bucs handily defeated Campbell 30-19 in game one prior to a 30-9 romp in game two. ETSU clinched the sweep and the match with a 30-16 victory in the third game on a kill by senior Lissa Allen (Palm Bay, Fla.), who finished with nine for the evening. Neither team could generate much offense on the attack, but ETSU relied on its strong defensive presence and exploited numerous mistakes made by the Fighting Camels throughout the match. Campbell was held to a negative attacking percentage (-.034) after committing 24 attack errors. ETSU sophomore setter Kristi Robinson (Knoxville, Tenn.) dished out a match-high 21 assists, while freshman Jennifor Sartor (Toronto, Canada) served up five aces. "I thought we passed well and we also got to the first ball over the net very quickly," said Devine. "Overall, I think we played smart and we stuck to our gameplan." The Buccaneers will return to the court at noon on Saturday, when they face Miami (Ohio). The squad will then return to Johnson City following a match with tournament host Virginia Tech, which will begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats are available by clicking on the link above.