The ETSU women’s volleyball team defeated Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, on Oct 18. ETSU lost to Samford in the SoCon Championship game last year.
“It felt great, Samford is always that team for us that comes out and challenges us in every way,” said senior Kaela Massey (Brentwood, Tennessee). “It really felt good to show up in their home gym and say, ‘Not again.’”
The team went into the match on Friday on a winning streak of 7-0 in the SoCon matches. They fought hard and won the match 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 19-25, 15-12), bringing their conference record to 8-0.
“Samford is a very good defensive team, and we knew we had to find a way to score points,” said head coach Benevia Jenkins. “I told our girls to stay disciplined and play hard. Both teams played well.”
The first set proved difficult until the Bucs took the lead of 15-10, where they would continue into a seven point lead at 21-14. The Bulldogs would come back to close in on the Bucs with a 5-1 run, but the Bucs would take the first win at 25-21.
In the second set, the Bucs started strong with a 9-3 lead that forced the Bulldogs to call a timeout. The Bucs kept the lead, despite the Bulldog’s fight, and held the advantage 24-20. The Bucs finished the set after freshman Lundyn Coffman (Murfeesboro, Tennessee) pounded a kill that gave the Bucs the win of 25-23.
The next two sets proved unsuccessful for the Bucs, but not without a fight as the Bulldogs took the third set at 25-22 and the fourth at 25-19.
With both teams tied 2-2 going into the fifth set, the Bulldogs were the first to take the lead 6-3. The Bucs called a timeout resulting in a 6-1 run and back in the lead 9-7. The Bucs held the 12-9 advantage, forcing the Bulldogs to take their final timeout, but freshman Olivia Cunningham (Knoxville, Tennessee) and freshman Lauren Hatch (Homewood, Illinois) gave the Bucs two kills. ETSU won 15-12.
“We have to continue to work hard now that we have a target on our back,” said Jenkins. “We have a young team with a lot of grit, and they’re fun to coach.”
The team plays back to back games this weekend starting on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. against Furman and Oct. 26 against UNC-Greensboro at 3 p.m., both in Brooks Gym.
