Friday, August 25, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (August 25, 2006) - The ETSU Lady Bucs could not overcome a slow start, committing 17 errors in the first two games of their season opener against the host Charlotte 49ers at the Charlotte Classic, as they fell in three games 30-22, 30-28 and 30-27.  It is the second time in five seasons ETSU has opened its season with a loss at Charlotte.

"This isn't the way we wanted to open our season," said head coach Lindsey Devine, adding, "but we were able to execute some things that we've been working on in practice tonight."

The Lady Bucs (0-1) took an early 2-0 lead in the opening game, but Charlotte rolled off 10 of the next 14 points, claiming a 10-6 lead.  ETSU twice rallied back to tie the score, but could never regain the advantage.  After the Lady Bucs tied the game at 20, Charlotte closed out the game with a 10-2 run, aided by four ETSU attack errors and a service error.

The 49ers (2-0) twice took early six-point leads in the second stanza at 11-5 at 14-8, but the Lady Bucs rallied again, eventually tying game two at 24.  Charlotte fought off the challenge, highlighted by two of Cori Dayton's match-high 19 kills, taking a dominating 2-0 lead in the match.

ETSU once again fell behind early, and could not recover in the match's final game, trailing 5-0 and 10-5 before recovering again and tying the game at 15.  Dayton again victimized the Lady Bucs, racking up nine kills in just 16 attacks in the final game as the 49ers pulled away for the 30-27 match-sealing victory.

Junior Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Lady Bucs with 10 kills on the night, followed closely by senior Crystal Palmer (Chico, Calif.) with nine and senior Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario) with eight.  Senior Nani Emerson (Tracy, Calif.) added seven kills, and dished out a team-best 34 assists, while junior Kaena Apana (Waianae, Hawaii) contributed 20 digs.

"Nani (Emerson) did a superb job running our offense, and Kaena (Apana) got to a lot of balls, and was key to our ball control," said Devine.  "Sartor, Kiselich and Mislan all had solid nights offensively."

The Lady Bucs conclude their play at the Charlotte Classic tomorrow afternoon with a tilt against North Carolina State. Match time is set for 1 p.m.

We have to make some quick adjustments before tomorrow, and come out and execute consistently from beginning to end," said Devine.