JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct 29, 2024) – East Tennessee State University volleyball beat Furman 3-0 ( 25-20, 25-19, 25-22) for the second time in five days in Johnson City on Tuesday.

Freshman outside hitter Makayla Bays hit the 100 career kill mark with a career high 15 in ETSU's first home Tuesday match since 2018. Junior opposite Isabelle Iosua tied her career high with 11 kills and sophomore libero Melanie Morris tied her career high with 24 digs. Senior middle blocker Abbey Thomas, fresh off of her SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honor, notched 100 kills in a season for the first time in her career with a seven kill, three ace, four block performance. 

Bays and the Bucs got off to a scorching start in the opening set. The Gate City, Va., native tallied eight kills and five digs in the opening frame. The Paladins put up a strong effort, and led as late as 14-13 in the set, but a kill from senior outside hitter Amanda Lowe gave ETSU the lead going into the media timeout. Bays recorded one of her eight kills in the set on the other side of the stoppage and the Bucs didn't relinquish the lead, capping off the 25-20 set win with another kill from Bays.

In the second set, it was Iosua's turn to take control of the match. ETSU jumped out to a quick lead before the Paladins fought their way back to take a 12-7 lead, their largest of the night. Lowe and Thomas each recorded a pair of kills to keep the Bucs within striking distance until Iosua tied the set and Bays gave ETSU the lead at 18-17, both off passes from Thomas. The two assists tied a career high for the Goldsboro, N.C. native. Iosua then rattled off three consecutive kills after Furman's final timeout of the set, and one last Iosua termination led to three consecutive Paladin errors and a 25-19 set win for the Bucs.

The final set was the most back-and-forth, with five lead changes and eight ties. The two squads battled throughout to a tie at 20. Thomas gave the Bucs the lead before Furman earned a pair of points to force an ETSU timeout, trailing 22-21. Thomas added another kill to tie the set at 22, and Bays' career high 15th kill followed immediately. Thomas and Bays then combined for the Bucs' only block of the set to set up match point, and a Furman attack error gave ETSU the 25-22 set and match win.

Next, ETSU continues its homestand against Samford in a battle for sole possession of third place in the SoCon standings at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 1. For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, follow @ETSUVolleyball on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.