After a month on the road, ETSU volleyball finally had the opportunity to show their wares to a Brooks Gym crowd, and took full advantage.
The Bucs scored the first five points of the match and never looked back as they defeated Appalachian State in three games, 30-19, 30-23, 30-25.
Head coach Deane Webb’s squad raised its record to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference, but both he and his players agree there is still room for improvement
“I think there were some lapses,” said Amber Ciskowski, who totaled six kills and six digs.
“It’s always hard to win three in a row,” Webb said, noting the tendency for a team to relax when they’re up big. Yet, “it was never a long streak,” as Webb noted, for the Bucs on this night. Indeed, they never allowed the Mountaineers any more than four consecutive tallies.
Though Appalachian State was actually picked to finish fifth, two places higher than the Bucs in the SoCon, the Mountaineers are now 0-11, and have lost their first five conference matches.
“You never know with preseason picks,” Webb said. “I did feel coming in that we were the better team.”
ETSU’s offense continued its flow through Carey Cavanaugh, who posted 29 assists and five kills to go along with eight digs, while Kate Steidle led the Bucs in kills with 11, and digs with nine.
“Kate’s really athletic,” Webb said of the sophomore, who, with some work, the coach added, could grow into an “excellent” player.
Ciskowski said: “I think that our team chemistry’s really coming together.”
No doubt that some of that cohesiveness can be traced to training camp, during which Webb emphasized the passing game.
“Practicing in the preseason was all ball-handling.”
Lissa Allen confirmed, after her eight-kill, seven-dig performance.
Allen added that their ball control has won praise from opponents, specifically some Furman players, who issued compliments after the Bucs went into their gym and swept them.
Now, with a successful home opener behind them, the Bucs find themselves in the midst of a stretch of 13 games that includes all 12 home matches.
The Lady Bucs will travel to Oct. 21 trip to Georgia Southern will be the only road trip for them until November.
This weekend will be particularly busy with a game at 7 p.m. Friday night against the College of Charleston.
ETSU will then play a doubleheader on Saturday with its first match against The Citadel at 11 a.m. and then a make-up game against Lipscomb at 3 p.m.
One new feature coming to Brooks Gym this year will be the NCAA’s new 30-point scoring system, which allows for a tally on every point played.
The first team to 30 points wins the game, as opposed to the first team to 15, as it had been in the past.

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