Contributed/ETSU Athletics

On Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24, the ETSU volleyball team competed against a SoCon opponent, the Furman Paladins. The last time these two teams met, ETSU lost with a final score of 3-2, and only by a few points. With the Buccaneers on a 6-game win-streak and the Paladins on a 3-game losing-streak, both teams were gunning for a win.

 

The first game on Oct. 23 started off strong with a 25-21 win for ETSU, with Makayla Bays scoring 4 kills to end the set. The Paladins fought back in the second set, eventually winning with a score of 25-19, tying up the match. The third set started off rough for ETSU, with Furman taking an early lead. An excellent kill by Karis Chatfield turned the tide for ETSU, allowing them to regain the lead and eventually win with a score of 16-25. 

 

The Buccaneers only needed one more set to win the match, and the Paladins were determined not let that happen. The fourth set was full of struggle, each team taking multiple turns in the lead. With a final kill by Makayla Bays, ETSU took home the win with a score of 25-21,  and a match score of 1-3.

 

The second game on Saturday, Oct. 24 was tougher than the previous day. ETSU started off strong with 2 kills to take the early lead, but the Paladins were able to quickly bounce back. The Buccaneers were unable to regain the lead for the rest of the set, and eventually lost with a set score of 25-21. Similar to the first set, ETSU started with a 4-point lead at the beginning of the set. After a power struggle between the two teams fighting for first, Furman eventually won the battle with a final score of 25-23, the closest one yet. 

 

The Paladins only needed 1 more set to win the match, and the Buccaneers were determined to stop that from happening. Furman kept pulling into a small lead, but ETSU was able to keep up with them in ties. The two teams stayed within 2 points of each other the entire set, even forcing each other to go past 25 points to win. With two well-placed kills by the Paladins, they took the set with a final score of 28-26, ultimately winning the second match and discontinuing ETSU’s winning streak.

 

The ETSU volleyball team will return on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 for a spooky Halloween matchup against Tennessee Tech, the newest member of the Southern Conference. The last time these teams played against each other was in 2023, when ETSU lost with a score of 3-0. Be sure to support the Buccaneers as they travel to Cookeville, Tennessee to regain their win streak.

 

For more information on the ETSU women’s volleyball team, you can visit their website at ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball tab.

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