Box Score

Johnson City, TN – Trailing two games to none against East Tennessee State the UNC Greensboro volleyball team mounted a dramatic comeback, defeating ETSU in five games, in Brooks Gym Friday night. The win moves the Spartans to 7-24 overall and 5-15 in the Southern Conference, just one game behind ETSU for the eighth and final playoff spot. With one game remaining in the regular season the Spartans must pick-up a victory to hold onto their playoff aspirations. ETSU (8-21, 6-13 SoCon) could have clinched a spot in the Southern Conference tournament with a win over UNC Greensboro, but UNCG came back from a two-game deficit to defeat the Buccaneers 3-2.

East Tennessee State took care of the Spartans in game one, 30-26, and kept the advantage in game two in pulling out a 32-30 victory. However, UNCG bounced back with vengeance after the break to win game three 30-24 and followed it up with a 30-27 decision in the fourth game. The decisive game five came down to the wire, but it was the Spartans who clinched the match with the 15-12 victory.

The Spartans, who out-blocked ETSU 11-8 for the match, was led by senior Dawn Bright's (Sr./Aberdeen, NC) match-high 7 block assists. Bright also led the team with 20 kills. Setter Adrian Hicks (Fr./Morganton, NC) dished out 47 assists, while defensively Kim Dayton (Jr./Fayetteville, NC) led UNCG with 17 digs. The Spartans had five other players tally double figures in digs, while Lori Collins (Fr./Keeling, VA) and Dayton added had 12 kills apiece.

Leading the way for ETSU was sophomore Karen Freeburg who registered a career-high 35 digs, two shy of the school record. Freshman Nicole Ryan paced the Bucs with a match-high 24 kills with a .306 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Renee Vesey tallied 60 assists and three service aces, matching Junior Lissa Allen, who also had three aces. Kate Steidle added 14 kills, while Allen and sophomore Meghan Connolly had 11 and 10 kills, respectively.

The Spartans travel to Appalachian State to take on the Mountaineers tomorrow at 7 pm.