Bucs look to win back-to-back matches Friday when they host Chattanooga

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 28, 2023) – The ETSU volleyball team picked up its first win of the season on Thursday night as it downed UNC Greensboro in four sets (25-21, 20-25, 25-13, 25-10) at Brooks Gym. 

Stat Standouts – Offensively, the Bucs were paced by a trio of players that reached double digit kill totals on Thursday. Brianna Cantrell (Appleton, Wis.) led the charge with 14 kills to go with a pair of aces and seven digs. Jenna Forster (Maryville, Tenn.) and Chloe Dupuis (Poquoson, Va.) both added 10 kills apiece. Dupuis' 10 kills established a new career-high for her. Isabelle Iosua (Honolulu, Hawaii) also had a stellar night with nine kills on a .381 hitting percentage. Malgorzata Andersohn (Bydgoszcz, Poland) picked up her eighth double-double of the season with a 21-assist, 16-dig performance. 

First Set – UNC Greensboro jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on the Bucs to begin Thursday's match. ETSU battled back, however, to eventually tie the score at 18. After the two teams traded the next few points to move the score to 20-20, the Bucs went on to score five of the next six points to finish off the 25-21 set victory. 

Second Set – Just like in the first set, the Spartans scored the first five points in the second frame. The Bucs quickly chopped away at the UNCG lead though. A kill from Iosua made the score 12-11 ETSU and forced UNCG to take a timeout. The shift in the set seemed to begin when the score was tied at 16. A 4-0 run from UNCG put the pressure back on ETSU, 20-16. ETSU briefly cut the deficit to three points but UNCG went on to take the stanza 25-20 to even the match at a set a piece. 

Third Set – The Buccaneer offense really started to click in the third set. Collectively, the Bucs totaled 13 kills, attacked at a .300 clip and five different players had at least two kills. ETSU wasted little time to get going in the third as it scored six of the first seven points. The Buccaneer lead would grow to as many as 12 points, which ended up being the final difference in the frame, 25-13. 

Fourth Set – As good as the Buccaneer offense was in the third, it was that much better in the fourth. ETSU totaled 16 kills on 25 attacks with just one error for an attack percentage of .600. Cantrell totaled six of her 14 kills in the closing set, while Dupuis and Forster added four and three kills, respectively. With the offense clicking so well, the Bucs went on to easily win the fourth set, 25-10. 

Up Next – ETSU, now 1-13 overall and 1-2 in SoCon play, will have a short turnaround as it welcomes in-state rival Chattanooga to Brooks Gym on Friday. First serve between the Bucs and Mocs is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.   

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball tab.