Coming into their match Friday against the Chattanooga Mocs, the ETSU Buccaneers record was 9-5 and 1-1 in Southern Conference play.
In the first set, the Bucs won 28-26. AJ Lux (Shelbyville, Ind.) and Briana Allmon (Flower Mound,Texas) led the first set for the Bucs with seven and four kills.
The Mocs were able to even the sets, winning the second set, 25-23. A good contribution for the Bucs was Freshman Kaela Massey (Brentwood, Tenn.).
She was very active in the second set as she totaled three kills, two blocks and an ace.
In the third set, even with four kills from AJ Lux and Briana Allmon, the Bucs couldn’t get ahead losing their second straight set to the Mocs 25-21. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers were a point away from Chattanooga late in the set, down 22-21. However, the Mocs got the better of them going on a 3-0 run to win the set and go up on the Bucs, 2-1.
Briana Allmon totaled a match-high 10 kills in the fourth set, however, it wasn’t enough as the Mocs won the fourth, 25-20.
“Briana carried a big load tonight and played with a fearless attitude,” said ETSU Head Coach Lindsey Devine.
“We are a team that is a work in progress so we are looking forward to the next opportunity.”
What really hurt the Bucs was UTC’s preseason All-SoCon member Kristy Wieser, who had seven of her 19 kills in the final set.
“Chattanooga is a good team that requires any team that comes into its gym to play very well,” Devine said. “We executed on many of the pieces that were part of our game plan, but we are trying to figure out consistency in key moments.”
With the loss, the Bucs drop to 9-6 on the season and 1-2 in conference play.
The Buccaneers return home Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. to face Western Carolina.
