Saturday, October 25, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 25, 2008) - The ETSU volleyball team defeated Stetson in four sets Saturday afternoon at Brooks Gym., 3-1 (29-27, 25-23, 14-25, 25-16).

"I was really happy that we won, and that it was a whole team effort," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "We talked about being able to come off of the bench and be hungry. It was evident that when people came off of the bench, they continued what the team was doing on the court and played as a team."

The Bucs (8-14, 5-9 A-Sun) were led by Whitney Cogburn (Kingsport, Tenn.) as she collected a triple-double with 13 kills, 18 assists and 15 digs, and also tallied four blocks in the match. Desiree Dyck (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) led the team offensively with 16 kills. Erin Ryan (Davie, Fla.) and McKayla Barber (Columbus, Ga.) each had double digit kills for ETSU as Ryan had ten while Barber had 11.

Kelley Coker (South Bend, Ind.) and Jen Neice (Allen, Texas) also had good performances, as Coker had a season high 25 assists, and Niece had a team leading 18 digs.

"I think that Kelley did a great job at the beginning for us at running the offense," Devine said. "I was glad to see Desiree come alive for us, and Erin also did well."

The Bucs jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the first set after a five-point run by ETSU. The Hatters battled back with a six-point run to go in front 13-12, but the Bucs again answered with a four-point run to retake the lead 16-14. With ETSU up 24-21, Stetson got three straight points to tie the match at 24-all, but the Bucs got a key kill from Ryan with the score tied 27-27 as they went on to win the set 29-27.

In the second set, ETSU again jumped out in front 10-7, but Stetson went on a five-point run to take a 12-10 lead. The Hatters kept the lead until late in the set as Dyck put the Bucs in front 24-23 as ETSU went on to win the set and took a 2-0 lead going into the break. Dyck had 11 kills in the set as she hit a .471 clip (11-3-17).

The Hatters took the first six points of the third set as Stetson did not relinquish the lead winning the set 25-14.

ETSU came out on fire in the forth set as the Bucs jumped out to a 9-4 lead after a five-point run. The Bucs continued to maintain the lead throughout the set as Neice ended the game with a service ace, 25-16. Amanda Youell (Middleburg, Fla.) had four kills and 14 assists in the set.