October 5, 2002

Furman Volleyball Outlasts ETSU 3-2

Johnson City, Tenn. ­ East Tennessee State¹s volleyball team lost to Southern Conference rival Furman in five games Saturday afternoon in Brooks Gym.

After losing the first game 30-21, the Bucaneers (5-10, 3-4 SoCon) rallied back to win the next two games 30-27 and 30-25, respectively. However, Furman (12-8, 7-1 SoCon) pulled away with a 30-23 victory in game four to force a fifth game, in which the Paladins won convincingly, 15-9.

East Tennessee State was led by junior middle hitter Lissa Allen (Palm Bay, Fla.), who finished the day with 11 kills on 18 attempts an no attack errors for a hitting percentage of .611. Allen also recorded three service aces in the match and had nine digs.

Nicole Ryan (Etiwanda, Calif.) had 15 kills to lead all Buccaneers, while left-handed swinger Sara Scandiffio (Purcellville, Va.) registered 14. Freshman setter Kristi Robinson (Knoxville, Tenn.) dished out 48 assists, while defensively the Lady Bucs¹ Kate Steidle (Waynesboro, Va.) and Karen Freeburg(New Castle, Ind.) had 12 and 11 digs, respectively.

On the Paladins¹ side of the net, four players had double figures in kills led by Abby Simon with 16 and Carrie Rowley with 14. Laura Bush and Amber Montague each recorded double-doubles in the match. Bush finished with 13 kills and a match-high 15 digs, while Montague also had 13 kills to go with her 11 digs. Caitlin White was a presence at the net with one block solo and six block assists. As a team, the Lady Paladins out blocked ETSU 11-3.

The Lady Paladins return to action October 9, when they host Western Carolina at Timmons Arena.