Trailing the former So-Con rival Appalachian State Mountaineers by two sets, the ETSU Lady Bucs were staring into the face of another shutout loss.
Then they spat in it.
“We’re sick of losing,” said freshman middle guard McKayla Barber. “Refusing to lose, that was my mentality.”
The Lady Bucs then came back to win three consecutive sets to gain their first win at home in Brooks Gym, and the first win over Appalachian State for head coach Lindsey Devine.
“I’m very happy and very proud for our staff and the girls that we could win at home like this,” Devine said.
The Lady Bucs entered the game on a six-game losing streak, with an overall record of 2-7. The Mountaineers, with a record of 2-8, also suffered a six-game losing streak when they began their season.
On paper, these two teams were in similar situations. Aside from the number of wins, each team had only played one game at home. Last year, the Lady Bucs finished 19-13, while the Mountaineers finished 19-14. Appalachian State holds the lead in the teams’ all-time series, beating the Lady Bucs 47 times out of the teams’ 65 meetings. In fact, the Lady Bucs had not won a match against Appalachian State since 2001
“Each year is different. You never know what to expect,” Devine said, in reference to the rivalry. “Last year, we went to Boone and we didn’t win a set. But it’s hard to beat us at home.” Last season, the Lady Bucs posted a 9-1 record when playing in Brooks Gym.
During the first set, the Lady Bucs matched the Mountaineers’ output play for play, but fell behind late and lost 29-31. The second set began poorly for ETSU as the Mountaineers opened with a 9-2 run, led by the efficient serving of Appalachian State sophomore Jordan Jesberg. Despite the Lady Bucs’ efforts, they lost the set 16-25.
After the intermission between the second and third sets, the possibility of extending their losing streak became very real for the Lady Bucs. In spite of the deficit, coach Devine maintained her confidence in her team’s abilities.
“Composure is very important. It’s something that we’ve stressed all year,” Devine said.
Devine watched her team’s composure in action as the Lady Bucs began the third set with a 7-3 lead.
Rejuvenated by their team’s efforts, the 211 spectators came to life to become, as one athletic department official said, one of the liveliest crowds she had seen at a volleyball game. ETSU went on to win the set 25-16.
Early in the fourth set, the Lady Bucs’ composure eroded as early errors and miscues led to a 12-5 Mountaineer lead. It was then that the “refuse to lose” mentality set in for the entire team, according to Barber.
Freshman middle back Jamie Stancliff led the offensive charge with several kills, while Barber and junior setter Amanda Youell provided key blocks to narrow the scoring gap. It was at this point that the Lady Bucs’ defensive prowess began to stand out.
In addition to the blocked shots, ETSU refused Appalachian State spikes with multiple digs from sophomore setter Whitney Cogburn (who finished with 13 digs), and freshman defensive specialist Jen Neice (who finished with 19). The Lady Bucs won the fourth set 26-24 to take the Moutaineers to its first five-set game of the season.
While ETSU’s composure was steadfast, the Mountaineers saw theirs slipping away. Appalachian State committed 9 errors in the fourth set (their most in a set for the match), and, upon entering the fifth set, seemed taken aback by both the Lady Bucs’ performance and the increasingly loud and hostile crowd.
Even Mountaineers head coach Matt Ginipro became visibly frustrated, earning a caution after an argument with an official, and complaining about the crowd heckling his players.
“I think they (the crowd) helped get them off their game,” Youell said of Appalachian State.
In addition to traditional supportive chants such as “E.T! S.U!” and yelling before a Mountaineer serve, the crowd challenged the boundaries of taste by dubbing Appalachian State middle backs Carla Durham and Prescott Lederer (both of whom stand at 6-feet-2 inches) as “Andre the Giant,” and developed a chant accordingly (“Andre the Giant!” clap, clap, clap clap clap).
It was then that referees Keith Weller and Bob Wnukowski sided with Ginipro and delayed a serve until athletic department personnel asked the crowd to stop.
Regardless of the crowd’s methods, no one on ETSU’s side of the net complained about their involvement.
“It helps when they’re loud,” Barber said. “It gets us pumped.”
“It’s part of the game,” Youell said of the taunting. “When we were at Lipscomb, we got teased. The crowd said mean stuff. But you can’t let it bother you.”
Whether it was the crowd or not, the Mountaineers were unable to regain their composure. The Lady Bucs broke away from a 3-3 tie to take an 11-4 lead, thanks to their strong defensive efforts. Appalachian State then outscored the Lady Bucs 6-3, but on the next serve, the match ended and ETSU was victorious.
In addition to the team’s composure, Devine also attributes the win to good teamwork and big plays from new contributors.
“Yes, they are young,” Devine said, “but the effort has always been there. New players stepped up tonight and that really helped us pull out the win.”
Youell led the Lady Bucs in kills (12) and assists (29). Cogburn added nine kills and 19 assists, while Barber had 11 kills and seven blocks.
For Appalachian State, Lauren Swecker led with 17 kills, while Charissa Clearman set up 44 assists.
The Lady Bucs will stay at home for their next two games this weekend. On Friday, they will meet A-Sun rival Jacksonville at 7 p.m. They will face North Florida at 3 p.m. Saturday.

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