SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Nov. 17, 2023) – The ETSU volleyball team battled the SoCon regular season champions, The Citadel, tough but ultimately fell to the top-seeded Bulldogs in three sets (25-18, 27-25, 25-21). With the loss, the Bucs conclude the 2023 season with a 6-23 record.
 
Stat Standouts – Brianna Cantrell paced the Bucs offensively against the Bulldogs with 13 kills. Lundyn Coffman, in her final game as a Buccaneer, totaled nine kills and three block assists. Jasmal Cruz totaled 23 digs to pace the ETSU defense. Malgorzata Andersohn (19 assists, 10 digs) and Ensilina Savelio (12 assists, 12 digs) picked up double-doubles in the contest.
 
Set 1 – ETSU seemed to swing momentum early in Friday's match. The Citadel would score eight of the first 12 points but a 6-0 run put ETSU on top. The Bulldogs were not to be denied though as they rapidly regained the lead. An ace from Savelio did get ETSU back within two points, 19-17. Unfortunately, that's as close as ETSU got as The Citadel took the first frame, 25-18.
 
Set 2 – The second set proved to be the most competitive of the match. ETSU and The Citadel were tied at 12 different points and the lead changed hands on three occasions. Despite struggling with attack errors in the set (10), a kill from Jenna Forster made the score 24-24. The two teams traded the next few points before the Bulldogs notched back-to-back points with a kill and ace to outlast ETSU, 27-25.
 
Set 3 – ETSU's most veteran players stepped up in the final set. Coffman totaled four kills and Cruz tallied an incredible 10 digs in the third frame. The play of Coffman, Cruz and the rest of the Bucs brought The Citadel's lead to 23-21 after a kill from Abbey Thomas. Again, however, The Citadel scored the next two points to finish off the match, 25-21.
 
Next Up – The Bucs will lose Coffman, Cruz, Andersohn and Forster to graduation. The rest of the Bucs are slated to be back in 2024.
 
For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball tab.