Friday, October 31, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Oct. 31, 2008) - With North Florida up 2-0, the ETSU volleyball team rallied back to tie the match and force a fifth set, but the Ospreys held on to defeat the Bucs, 3-2 (17-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 11-15).

"We had a slow, and once we got our feet under us we were able to do well," said head coach Lindsey Devine. "I think we are fighting a mental game right now battling ourselves. Once we can get some confidence we will do really well."

The Bucs (8-16, 5-10 A-Sun) were led offensively by Desiree Dyck (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) as she had 15 kills on the night. Erin Ryan (Davie, Fla.) also had double digit kills tallying 11.

"Desiree had a good game for us," Devine said. "Everyone did well in key moments for us tonight."

Amanda Youell (Middleburg, Fla.) ran the ETSU offense as she had 45 assists, collecting seven digs and seven blocks, while Jen Neice (Allen, Texas) led the Bucs defensively with 16 digs in the match.

In the first set, with the score tied 6-6 North Florida went on an eight-point run to take a 14-6 lead. UNF did not look back as the Ospreys took the set 25-17.

The Bucs battled back in the second set as they took a 14-9 lead after a five-point run, but the Ospreys got a five-point run of their own to tie the match at 14-all. The lead exchanged hands a couple times, and with the Ospreys up 21-20 they got four straight points to take the second set 25-20.

Coming out of the break, ETSU played strong in the third set as the Bucs jumped out in front 15-8 after runs of three and four points. North Florida tried to come back, but the Bucs answered every time the Ospreys made a run, as ETSU took the third set 25-19.

In the fourth set, the Bucs jumped out to a 7-4 lead, but the Ospreys battled back to tie the game 9-9. North Florida then took the lead 16-14, but ETSU answered scoring four straight points to take an 18-16 lead. After UNF got two points to tie the game again at 18-all, the Bucs got another four-point run to jump in front 22-18 and didn't look back as they took the set 25-22.

North Florida jumped out 7-5 in the fifth set after a couple ETSU errors. The Bucs tried to cut into the Osprey lead, but North Florida was able to hold on taking the set 15-11.

The Bucs are back in action on Saturday at 5 p.m. as they will face Jacksonville on the road. Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information on ETSU volleyball or any other Buccaneer athletic team.