Saturday, October 25, 2003

Charleston, S.C. (October 25, 2003) - After winning its first back-to-back matches of the season, the East Tennessee State volleyball team ran into the proverbial brick wall Saturday afternoon, as the Buccaneers dropped a 3-0 decision to College of Charleston. The Cougars (19-4, 10-0 SoCon) extended their league winning streak to a Southern Conference record 28 matches by defeating ETSU 30-25, 30-17, and 30-16. CofC also owns the SoCon's home winning streak mark with 26 straight matches. Meanwhile, ETSU falls to 6-18 overall and 4-8 in conference action. "Charleston comes to play every single game," said ETSU head coach Lindsey Devine. "They are a consistent, talented group, and they have great leadership on the court." The Buccaneers started strong and led 21-20 in game one, forcing a Cougar timeout. College of Charleston came out of the 60-second break ready to turn things and went one-up for the match with a 30-25 victory. There were 11 ties and five lead changes in game one. The Cougars then jumped out to an early 10-3 lead in game two in cruising to a 30-17 win. Coming out of the break with a 2-0 advantage, the hosts didn't hesitate in putting away visiting ETSU as the Cougars pitched in an even more dominating performance in game three. Charleston led 10-1 early on en route to a 30-16 triumph. Freshman Natalie Pittenger (Gaston, Ind.) led the Buccaneers with 15 digs. Karen Freeburg (New Castle, Ind.) had a team-high nine kills, while sophomore Kristi Robinson (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 31 assists. East Tennessee State returns home to face the north-division leading Mountaineers of Appalachian State on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. in Brooks Gym.