COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 2, 2023) – The ETSU volleyball team wrapped up play in the Golden Eagle Invitational on Saturday morning as the Buccaneers dropped a four-set match to Kennesaw State inside the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tenn.

For the match, both teams had identical amounts of attacks with 120; however, the Owls were plus-10 in kills (47-37) and out-hit the Bucs .217 to .117. Kennesaw State also had the upper hand in service aces (11-4) and digs (52-47).

Brianna Cantrell (Appleton, Wis.) and Amanda Lowe (Blacksburg, Va.) combined for 16 kills on 64 attempts, while Malgorzata Andersohn (Bydgoszcz, Poland) posted her second double-double of the season. Andersohn collected 16 assists and 12 digs. Enisilina Savelio (Henderson, Nev.) just missed a double-double of her own as she totaled 12 assists and eight digs.

Following the first two weekends of tournament play, the Bucs sit 0-6 on the season, while Kennesaw State – who defeated Oregon State last weekend in Montana – improved to 4-2.

The Owls jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the match after leading the entire first set en route to winning the opener, 25-12. In the second, ETSU won the first three points and led 5-1 early on, but Kennesaw State rallied back. With the Owls leading, 10-9, Kennesaw State rattled off five straight points and the Bucs never answered as the Black & Gold took the second stanza, 25-18.

ETSU flipped the script in the third as they led wire-to-wire and fought back into the match with a 25-16 victory. Andersohn started the set with a service ace and the Blue & Gold went ahead 10-5 following a Kennesaw State attack error. The Owls pulled within a point (13-12), but ETSU closed the set on a 12-4 run to capture the nine-point win.

In the fourth, the Bucs found themselves in a deep hole as Kennesaw State won nine of the first 11 points and ETSU couldn't get over the hump. The Bucs eventually inched with one point at 12-11 and 13-12, but Kennesaw State ended the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth.

The Owls were led by Emma Schurfranz and Manu Johnsen as they combined for 30 kills and only five attack errors. Schurfranz finished with a match-high 16 kills and Johnsen ended with 14 kills, nine digs and three aces.

ETSU will look to secure its first win of the season next weekend as the Bucs travel to High Point, N.C. to take on High Point Friday and Davidson Saturday.

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