Tuesday night in Brooks Gym the Lady Bucs Volleyball team squared off against the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs in their final home game of the 2005 season.
After clinching a spot in the A-Sun Championships Saturday against Stetson, the Lady Bucs faced an undersized Bulldog team who came into the game riding a four-game winning streak.
In a hard-fought contest, the Lady Bucs battled back from a 2-1 deficit to take game four. But in game five the team struggled to maintain their comeback effort, falling 15-10. The 3-2 loss dropped the Lady Bucs to 17-11 overall, 3-5 in conference play.
Junior Brittany Kessel (Libertyville, Ill.) notched her third triple-double of the year with 14 kills, 34 assists and a career high 19 digs.
Four other Lady Bucs posted double-doubles in the loss. Junior Jennifer Sartor (Toronto, Ontario) led the Lady Bucs with 15 kills and chipped in 19 digs.
Junior Sarah Buhr had 13 kills and 10 digs, her third straight double-double performance. Junior Jennifer Emerson (Santa Clara, Calif.) also had 34 assists.
The Lady Bucs hit .195 compared to the Bulldogs’ .237 in a defensive struggle that lasted throughout all five games.
Game one kicked off with an ace from Emerson and the Lady Bucs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. The smaller UNC-Asheville team climbed back into the game and eventually took the lead 9-8.
The Lady Bucs would regain the lead 18-17 and it looked like they were getting settled in. But throughout game one both teams exchanged the lead several times, and the Bulldogs led when it counted, winning 30-27.
Kessel’s six kills paced the Lady Bucs in game one.
The Lady Bucs roared back in game two behind junior Crystal Palmer (Chico, Calif.) and Buhr, who helped the team to a 30-20 win. Palmer led the Lady Bucs in game two with six kills, while Buhr added five more.
Kessel continued her solid play in game two, adding 12 assists. UNC-Asheville led early on, but the Lady Bucs made runs of 10-3, and 10-4 to close out the game.
The Lady Bucs got off to another quick start in game three behind Sartor’s six kills but could not keep up with the Bulldogs. UNC-Asheville took a 13-12 lead and never looked back, winning the game 30-24.
Sophomore Callie Kiselich (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added five kills in game three, with Emerson and Kessel each posting six assists.
Down 2-1 the Lady Bucs bounced back in game four with yet another early lead. The Lady Bucs jumped out to a 14-7 advantage, only to watch the Bulldogs battle back to tie the match 15-15.
Buhr’s spirited play helped the Lady Bucs regain the lead 18-17 on a thundering spike, one of her game high five kills. The Lady Bucs never looked back, tying the overall match 2-2 with a 30-27 win in game four.
With the match on the line, the Lady Bucs came out firing in game five, taking a 3-0 lead. Sartor collected three straight kills, carrying the team to a 6-3 lead.
But the Bulldogs did not back down as they rallied back to take a 9-8 lead. The Lady Bucs never regained the lead and finished game five with a 15-10 loss.
Trailing 13-9 in game five, coach Lindsey Devine encouraged her team during a timeout. “She told us to stay focused,” said Sartor. “You have the abilities to win the game.”
But after falling short in their final home game, Devine said it was disappointing.
The Lady Bucs hit the road to face conference leader Florida Atlantic Saturday, Nov. 5th at 2 p.m.

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