Saturday, September 10, 2005

DAVIDSON, N.C. (Sept. 10, 2005) - The East Tennessee State volleyball team split a pair of games on Saturday, falling to Duquesne, 3-0, and toppling Howard, 3-0, at the Mizuno Wildcat Tournament in Davidson, N.C.  Junior Sarah Buhr (Stockton, Calif.) continued to shine for ETSU, slamming 12 kills against Duquesne and 14 against Howard.  Following the weekend, the Lady Bucs stand at 5-2 on the season.

Buhr was nearly flawless on offense, committing only six errors in 50 attempts on the day, swinging a combined .400 for both games.  Defensively, Buhr recorded five digs against Duquesne, and another six in the win over Howard.

"Once again, Sarah Buhr was wonderful for us, both offensively and defensively," said ETSU head coach Lindsey Devine.  "Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was also a force for us in the middle."         

Kiselich was unstoppable in the middle during the Howard match, belting 11 kills on 17 errorless attempts, hitting an impressive .647 for the match.  The sophomore also led the Lady Bucs with four block assists.  Also adding to the Buccaneer offense, junior Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario) and sophomore Michelle Mislan (Indianapolis, Ind.) tallied eight kills apiece.

Jennifer Emerson (Santa Clara, Calif.) and Brittany Kessel (Libertyville, Ill.) split the setting duties against the Bison with Emerson providing 23 assists, and Kessel chipping in with 21.

The Lady Bucs dominated Howard, 30-22, 30-14, 30-20, in a match that lasted only 59 minutes.  Bison Taylor Mason helped the Howard cause with nine kills.  Teammate Shannon Grant added 20 assists as the team fell to 0-5.

ETSU failed to get anything going in the loss to Duquesne (5-3), falling to the Dukes in three-straight games, 30-24, 30-22, 30-24. 

"We just didn't play well," said head coach Lindsey Devine of her team's performance in the first match.  "We weren't consistent, and couldn't get into a kind of flow in the first game, but I think it's wonderful that we were able to bounce back in win 3-0 the next game"

Behind Buhr's 12 kills, Kessel recorded nine, followed by Sartor with eight.  Emerson was once again in control of the offense with 37 assists. 

On defense, Emerson tallied a team-high nine digs.  Sartor managed five block assists and one block solo, while senior Sara Scandiffio (Purcellville, Va.) chipped in with four block assists.

Next on the schedule for the Lady Bucs is a home contest against Furman on Tuesday, Sept. 13, in Brooks Gym.  The match is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.