ASHEVILLE, NC The UNC Greensboro women's volleyball team had its five-match winning streak to start the season snapped with a 3-0 loss to East Tennessee State at the UNC Asheville Volleyball Classic on Friday night at The Justice Center.
Freshman Branagan Fuller led UNCG (5-1) with 11 kills, while senior Theresa Hart added 10 kills. Sophomore Kaitlyn Nortz put away nine kills on a .412 hitting percentage.
Freshman Lisa Fawell dished out 32 assists, while classmate Catherine Hanners came up with 21 digs for the second straight outing.
Jennifer Sartor and Sarah Buhr led ETSU (3-1) with 15 kills apiece, while Callie Kiselich had 11 kills in the win. Jennifer Emerson dished out 50 assists, while Kaena Apana came up with a team-high 16 digs.
The Bucs prevailed in game one 32-30 by hitting .391 on 22 kills against only four errors. The game could have gone either way as the lead never was greater than three points the whole way. In fact, UNCG led 25-22 after a kill by Hart in the latter part of the match. With the Spartans holding a 28-26 lead, ETSU called a timeout and responded by scoring the next three points to take the lead, 29-28. The game ultimately went into overtime with the Lady Bucs holding on for the win.
ETSU carried its momentum into game two and took an 18-8 lead, before going into the intermission with a 30-22 win and a commanding 2-0 lead.
UNCG showed some resiliency by taking an early 4-0 lead in game three. The Spartans still led 23-20 but ETSU closed the game on a 10-3 run to win the match with a 30-26 victory in the final game.
UNCG falls to 6-12 all-time against its former Southern Conference rivals.
UNCG continues play in the UNCA Volleyball Classic on Saturday at The Justice Center. UNCG will play the host Bulldogs at 12 noon and then Cleveland State at 3 pm.
AGATE
East Tennessee State def. UNC Greensboro 32-30, 30-22, 30-26
UNC Greensboro (5-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Branagan Fuller 11-0-2; Theresa Hart 10-0-0; Kaitlyn Nortz 9-0-4; Liz Benzschawel 3-0-1; Lauren Keiser 2-2-0; Lisa Fawell 2-3-2; Catherine Hanners 0-1-0; Totals 37-6-5.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 32. (Dig leaders) Catherine Hanners 21; Lauren Keiser 11; Theresa Hart 8
East Tennessee State (3-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - BUHR, Sarah 15-1-0; SARTOR, Jennifer 15-1-3; KISELICH, Callie 11-1-4; PALMER, Crystal 7-1-1; MISLAN, Michelle 6-0-4; EMERSON, Jennifer 3-1-1; MORTENSEN, Marissa 1-0-0; Totals 58-5-8.0. (Assists) - EMERSON, Jennifer 50. (Dig leaders) - APANA, Kaena 16; MORTENSEN, Marissa 12; PALMER, Crystal 9; EMERSON, Jennifer 8.
- UNCG -
