ETSU volleyball earned the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference tournament and played No. 8 seeded Furman on Nov. 18. ETSU was upset by the Paladins, losing 3-1.
Furman entered the tournament winning three straight and was playing some of their best volleyball.
In the first set, the two teams exchanged the lead five times and saw 13 ties as well. Freshman Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.) had a kill to make 21-21. After a block from Lundyn Coffman (Nolensville, Tenn.) and Jenna Forster (Maryville, Tenn.), the Bucs were able to secure the win in the first set 25-22
The second set was close, but Furman was able to hold off the Bucs and win 25-23. In the third set, Furman was able to use their momentum from the second set to propel them to a 25-22 win. In the fourth set, the lead changed five times and the teams saw 16 ties throughout the frame. Furman took the fourth frame 25-14 and was able to upset the Bucs.
Forster finished with 14 kills on the night to lead the Bucs and Amanda Lowe (Blacksburg, Va.) followed her with 11 of her own. Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) had 35 assists on the night and libero Haley Sanders (Brentwood, Tenn.) had a team high of 18 digs.
ETSU finished the season with a 21-8 overall record and a 15-1 record in conference play.
No. 2 Samford played No. 7 The Citadel in a match that went to five sets. Samford was able to win 3-2 in a competitive quarterfinal match.
Gracie Butler led Samford on offense with a career-high 21 kills. She also had 17 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.
No. 3 Western Carolina played No. 6 Mercer in their quarterfinal matchup. Western Carolina was able to sweep Mercer to advance to the Southern Conference semifinals.
Bailey Hartsough recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 12 digs to lead Western Carolina to victory.
No. 4 Chattanooga was able to complete a comeback against No. 5 Wofford, winning in a game that went to five sets. After losing the first two sets, Chattanooga won three straight to earn a spot in the semifinals.
This is the first time Chattanooga has made it to the semifinals since 2016, where the would later appear in the title match.
The duo of Natalie Tyson (25) and Halle Olson (19) that led the offense for Chattanooga, as the combined for 44 of the 62 kills the team had.
