Volleyball traveled to face Samford and Chattanooga in back-to-back matches this weekend. The Bucs beat Chattanooga 3-1 (25-15,30-32,25-21,25-22) and Samford 3-2 (20-25,21-25,25-21,25-21,15-9) and now hold a record of 10-1 in the conference.
“I think we started off really consistent and doing the little things right,” said junior Leah Clayton (Danville, Virginia). “We dipped down a little bit, then we were able to bounce back and take control with our serves and blocks.”
The Bucs dominated the first set against Chattanooga with junior Kaela Massey (Brentwood, Tennessee) having a 9-0 serve run, giving the Bucs a 16-7 lead. The Bucs lead the scoreboard until the end of the first set, with a win of 25-15.
The Mocs came back in the second half with a win, but the Bucs were unfazed and started the third set with 7-0 lead. The Mocs quickly climbed the scoreboard, but after the continuing battle between the teams, it would be Massey to secure the third set win with a kill.
The fourth set had similar results, with the Mocs keeping a close score of 20-16. Match point resulted in Massey’s kill, and senior Mariah McPartland (Boone, Iowa) made the final kill that gave the Bucs their winning score, 25-11.
The following day the Bucs faced Samford, which resulted in a five-set battle. The Bulldogs gave the Bucs their first, and so far, only loss of the conference season when they came to ETSU.
The Bulldogs lead the match, winning the first two sets, the Bucs managed to gain the lead in the third set after a kill by senior AJ Lux (Shelbyville, Indiana) made it a tight score of 10-9. That one point lead was all it took to spark a change in events, and keeping the Bucs from trailing.
The Bucs continued to advance and would win the next two sets. The fifth set started with the Bulldogs leading and looking for the win, but the Bucs came back with three kills to take the lead. By the end of the fifth set, mistakes made by the Bulldogs gave the Bucs their second win of the week.
The Bucs return home to face UNCG on Wednesday.
