Wednesday, September 06, 2006

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (September 6, 2006) - The Volley Bucs tuned up for their weekend tournament by dispatching Tusculum in three quick games 30-16, 30-26, 30-25 Wednesday evening in non-conference action at Pioneer Arena on the Tusculum College campus.

The Lady Bucs (5-2) rolled out to 9-1 lead in the opening game, and cruised to the 30-16 final.  Senior Crystal Palmer (Chico, Calif.) belted four of her match-high 13 kills in the opening frame with junior Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added four kills of her own, en route to finishing the match with 11.

14 total Pioneer errors helped ETSU to the four point game two victory, as Tusculum committed one ball handling error, six attack errors and a whopping seven service errors in the second game alone.  Kiselich contributed four more kills, while senior Sarah Buhr (Stockton, Calif.) threw in four as well.

The Pioneers (4-3) stayed close in game three, until three consecutive service aces from senior Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario) extended the Lady Buc lead from four to seven at 16-9.  Palmer hammered out six kills in the decisive game, and senior Nani Emerson (Tracy, Calif.) dished out 12 of her match-high 36 assists.

In addition to her 11 kills, Kiselich finished the night with a .526 hitting percentage, reaching her kill total in 19 total attacks, while committing just one error.

The Lady Bucs return to action Friday evening in their opening game of the Lady Bucs Volleyball Classic presented by Best Western against Furman at 6:30 p.m.  The tournament begins at 4:30 p.m. with Evansville taking on five-time defending Big South Conference champion Winthrop.  The tournament continues with four matches Saturday, two matches featuring the Lady Bucs.  Saturday play is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m.