JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 16, 2024) – East Tennessee State University volleyball won its final home game of the 2024 season 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-22) over rival Chattanooga in front of a season-high crowd of 462.
The Bucs honored their five seniors prior to the match: graduate right side Jenna Forster, graduate setter Reese Rhodes, senior middle blocker Abbey Thomas, senior outside hitter Amanda Lowe and senior defensive specialist Haley Sanders.
ETSU was led by the veteran quintet in the match. Forster tallied eight kills, Rhodes had 42 assists, eight digs and two kills, Thomas had six kills, six blocks and four digs and Lowe pioneered the charge with a season-high 18 kills on .471 hitting.
Rhodes assisted Thomas for the Bucs' first kill of the night, but the Mocs extended an 11-7 lead early in the first set. Then, Forster and Thomas recorded back-to-back kills before combining on a block to tie the set at 11. After a back-and-forth for several points, Lowe gave the Bucs a lead they wouldn't relinquish with a kill, and freshman outside hitter Makayla Bays capped off the 25-20 set win with another kill.
The Bucs amped up the pressure in the second set, hitting .500 with 19 kills. Lowe had seven kills in ETSU's dominant set, which started with a 5-0 run from Rhodes' service. Included in the run was Thomas' 300th career block, alongside Forster. The Goldsboro, N.C., native also recorded her 400th career kill in the match.
ETSU extended its lead in the set to 11 points on multiple occasions, and with the score 22-12, Sanders checked into a match for the first time all season after not playing due to an injury. She notched a pair of digs and helped the Bucs win the set 25-14. Sanders still retains one year of eligibility, as she did not play as a junior, and has announced her intention to return to ETSU for her final season of collegiate volleyball.
In the final frame, Lowe continued the Buccaneers barrage of kills with eight in the set. The Mocs refused to roll over, though, and offered the most competitive set of the match. ETSU did not extend a lead of more than four, and Chattanooga battled back after trailing early to tie the set at 20 and take a 21-20 lead. However, a red card was issued to a Mocs player after Chattanooga took the lead, and a point was issued to ETSU as a result. With the set then tied at 21, Lowe notched her sixth kill of the set to give the Bucs the lead back.
Lowe notched another kill, preceded by Thomas' third solo block of the evening, and then, with all five seniors on the floor, Lowe hammered her final kill of the night to give ETSU the 25-22 set and match win.
With the win, the Bucs moved to 10-6 in conference play and earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Mercer won the regular season championship with its win over Wofford on Friday night. The Terriers finished second, Samford finished fourth, The Citadel finished fifth, Furman finished sixth, Chattanooga finished seventh, Western Carolina finished eighth and UNC Greensboro finished ninth.
Next, ETSU begins the 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Volleyball Championship at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 against No. 6 seeded Furman.
For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, follow @ETSUVolleyball on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.
