SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Nov. 23, 2024) – East Tennessee State University volleyball outlasted Furman 3-2 (25-14, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13) on Friday night to advance to the semifinals of the Ingles SoCon Volleyball Championship.

Graduate setter Reese Rhodes notched her 3,000th career assist and her 1,000th assist as a Buc in the match. Assist No. 3,000 came on a pass to freshman outside hitter Makayla Bays to give ETSU a 7-5 lead in the second set. Her 1,000th assist came in the third set, and junior middle blocker Whitley Rammel recorded the kill.

Junior outside hitter Brianna Cantrell had a career day at the service line, tallying four aces to contribute to the Bucs' 11 team aces to just ten service errors, marking the fourth time this season ETSU has had more aces than service errors in a match. 

Additionally, ETSU totaled 98 digs, the most by a Buccaneer squad since Oct. 20, 2017, when the Blue & Gold had 99 in a win over UNC Greensboro. Rhodes had a career high 22 digs, and sophomore libero Melanie Morris added a career high 26.

ETSU jumped out of the gate in the opening set, putting pressure on the Paladins back line with a blistering .433 hitting percentage. All six Bucs that took a swing in the set notched a kill, as Rhodes and Morris (ten and three assists in the set) effectively spread the ball around. Bays finished with a run at the service line, including an ace, after recording a kill, and Rhodes gave ETSU the 25-14 set win with a kill.

The Bucs leaned on the service line in the second set, recording five aces, including two each from Cantrell and Bays, along with one from Rhodes. The Blue & Gold had one of their best hitting sets of the season, posting a .481 hitting percentage. ETSU led comfortably throughout, holding a 20-11 lead before the Paladins clawed back at the deficit, eventually tightening it to 24-21 after stopping three Bucs match points. Bays ended the set after that with a kill to give ETSU the set, 25-21, and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Furman and its cadre of seniors refused to go down without a fight, though. The Paladins began giving ETSU a taste of its own medicine, tallying 13 team blocks, including eight in the third and fourth sets, against the conference's best blocking team throughout the regular season. 

The Paladins led wire-to-wire in the third set, getting out to a 10-4 lead. The Bucs rallied, drawing within a point on seven different occasions, but were unable to fully dig out of the early hole and lost 25-21. Ava Auguston recorded six kills in the set as Furman forced a fourth. 
The fourth set was the only one in the match with any lead changes, and it had five, all within the first portion of the frame as the squads dueled to a 13-13 tie. The Paladins took a 15-13 lead into the media timeout and would not relinquish that lead to force a deciding final set.  

With its backs against the wall, ETSU stood up to the pressure in the final set. Behind the service of senior middle blocker Abbey Thomas and Cantrell, the Bucs raced to a 9-2 lead. Furman had one last rally ready, though, and went on a run of their own to within a point at 12-11. A lift was called on a Furman attack with an opportunity to tie, sending senior defensive specialist Haley Sanders to the line. 

A long rally ensued before Thomas ended it with an emphatic solo block. The Paladins saved two match points after the block, but Rhodes went back to Thomas with a 14-13 lead and the senior stalwart delivered, ricocheting a ball off the Furman block and down to deliver the Bucs the 15-13 set and match. 

Thomas finished with nine kills on .389 hitting and a trio of blocks, none bigger than the last. ETSU improved to 6-5 at SoCon Championships hosted in South Carolina, to 5-4 against Furman all-time in the postseason and to 4-2 at tournament matches played in Spartanburg. The Blue & Gold also earned its first quarterfinal win over Furman ever in South Carolina, and first win against the Paladins in the conference tournament since 2016. 

Next, ETSU takes on No. 2 seed and tournament host Wofford at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Bucs and Terriers' only meeting in SoCon tournament history came in 2017, when ETSU swept Wofford in the championship game.

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, follow @ETSUVolleyball on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.