On Nov. 11 and 12 the ETSU volleyball team had a chance to win the Southern Conference regular season title on the road. On Nov. 11, the Bucs faced The Citadel, winning the match 3-0.
Coming into the match the Bucs were 19-7 and 11-3 in conference play. The Citadel season hasn’t gone too well, as they finished their season 8-24 and 1-15 in conference play. The Bucs won the first set 25-17 despite a slow start. The Bucs have shown that slow starts are not a problem once the team settles in.
“I’m most impressed with how though we started slow we were able to refocus ourselves,” said Head Coach Lindsey Devine.
In the second set, the Bucs and The Citadel exchanged momentum until the Bucs were able to get a six-point advantage to finish the second set 25-19. In the third set, the Bucs were able to reclaim a lead from The Citadel to get a score of 12-8.
The Bucs were able to finish off The Citadel 25-18 to get the season sweep. The Citadel led both teams in attacks but the Bucs defense allowed them to stay in control of the match.
During the second match on Nov. 12, the Bucs faced Mercer on the road. Mercer came into the match 15-13 and 7-9 in Southern Conference play.
With the win, the Bucs would secure the No.1 seed going into the Southern Conference tournament. The Bucs won 3-0 to complete the weekend shutouts.
In the first set, the Bucs were on the attack, jumping to an early lead. The second set for the Bucs was no gimme, and Mercer competed for every possession. However, the Bucs were able to come out on top winning 25-23.
Like the second set, the Bucs went toe to toe for every point, but they were able to pull away, winning the final set 25-22.
This win was ETSU’s first regular season title since 1991. The Bucs finished the season 21-7 and 13-3 in Southern Conference play. The SoCon tournament begins Nov. 19.
