The Lady Bucs had a great opening game. There was a lot of crowd support and that may have helped the Bucs beat Furman University in three straight games at the Volleyball Classic.
The first game was a power show of kills and blocks. Jennifer Sartor led the Bucs with 15 blocks. Callie Kiselich and Sarah Buhr helped with 11 blocks. Aguocha Chibuzo of Furman gave ETSU some trouble with 15 kills.
The second game was more of finesse and mental plays. The adjustments for Chibuzo were noticeable. “We made mental adjustments and had good defensive blocks,” Devine said. “We made sure we kept calm. There were times where we started to panic, but we slowed back down and came through.”
The third game was a game of tug-of-war. The two teams went back and forth with the lead. The crowd really got into the game. They helped pull a win out for the Bucs. “It felt good to be home. We got road wins now we need to secure home wins,” Devine stated.
Emerson agreed. “We have been on the road for two weeks. It was so nice to come home to a big crowd of community members and athletes.”
Kaena Apana led the team with 18 digs. She was a key factor in the Bucs win. “I just played off the crowd. They gave us that extra adrenaline that we needed.”
The second day of the tournament ended the same way it started. ETSU lost to Winthrop University 30-28, 30-25, 30-28. The Bucs are now 6-4. Game one was not very pretty. The Bucs made a good rally at the end but came up short. Apana said, “We ran out of time. We made the effort way too late.”
Game two was more of the same. They had too many points to make up and too little time again. Kiselich made an excellent save but still that did not help. They were too far down.
Game three was another nip and tuck where every point mattered. The Bucs just couldn’t pull ahead. “Winthrop had the momentum going for them,” said Devine, head coach.
At the ETSU versus Evansville. The crowd was small and quiet. There was a difference in the way they came out. The Bucs appeard to looked a little tired. ETSU is now 6-3.
The Bucs came from behind to win the first game 32-30. They were down three and came back to tie at 30. They went ahead and won it on a kill from Crystal Palmer. They had good defense at the net with great blocks by Michelle Mislan and Jennifer Sartor. “The reason they came back was confidence and cool composure,” Devine said.
In the second game, the Bucs seemed really tired and spread out. They gave up some easy shots and lost that one 30-24. Freshman Krystina Ramey got in some good digs in her third collegiate game.
After halftime, the Bucs came out and took over winning 30-23. It was a dominant performance. They looked fresh and ready to go. With the Bucs up two games to one, Evansville looked ready for a fight. “We made good mental adjustments. That’s what helped us,” Devine explained.
The fourth game went back and forth until Evansville took over and won 30-25. That was the momentum swing for Evansville. Fatigue was not a factor. “We haven’t had two or three practices in a day for a while. This is just mental things that need work. Fatigue is just an excuse,”Devine said.
They took that into the fifth game and won 15-10. Even though they lost, two players stood out on offense. “Michelle Mislan and Jennifer Sartor were great. Nani Emerson is still overall the best we have,” Devine explained.
Looking ahead to the game against Lees-MaCrae on Sept. 13, Devine addressed the one thing that needs work, stopping the run and momentum. “We need to be momentum killers. We do that by being a first kill team,” Devine said.

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