JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - East Tennessee State University's volleyball team defeated Southern Conference opponent UNC Greensboro 3-2 Tuesday at Brooks Gymnasium.
East Tennessee State (4-12, 2-3 SoCon) took an early lead to open the first set, seeing a 4-1 lead; however, UNCG (9-7, 2-3 SoCon) tied the set with a quick run of their own to tie the set at 8. ETSU built its lead back up to 20-15 to force a Spartan's timeout. UNCG would get as close as 22-20, but consecutive kills by
Makayla Bays set by
Bailey Gohlke ended the set with the Bucs taking the 25-20 first set.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the second set, seeing five tied scores. The last tie was at six from a kill by
Elizabeth Aylward. The Spartans began to pull away from the Bucs as an ace by Chloe Nussbaum allowed them to lead 13-8 and force an ETSU timeout. The Bucs battled back to get as close as 5 at 20-15 with another kill from Aylward, but the Spartans took the set's final three points for the 25-17 second-set win.
The Buccaneers opened the third set quickly, leading the Spartans 6-1. A 5-2 run by UNCG got them within 8-6, but the Bucs battled back as a kill by
Phoenix Fogel allowed them to lead 11-13. Three consecutive kills by Allie Sweet got UNCG as close as 24-22, but a kill by
Karis Chatfield ended the set, giving the Bucs the 25-22 third-set win.
The fourth set opened with the teams exchanging shots, as the Bucs trailed 7-6. A 7-0 run from UNCG gave them a 13-6 lead. The Spartans continued their momentum as a kill from Sweet gave them a 22-16 lead to force an ETSU timeout. A kill from Bays got the Bucs as close as 22-18, but a Buc service error gave the Spartans the 25-15 fourth-set win.
The fifth set saw five tied scores and one lead change. The last tie came at 8 with a kill by Chatfield and by UNCG's Hailey Clifton. A trio of Spartan errors and two kills by Chatfield ended the fifth set with the Buccaneers taking the 3-2 SoCon match.
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Match points