Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG volleyball earned a four-set victory (17-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-23) over the ETSU Buccaneers on Saturday evening inside Fleming Gymnasium. UNCG improves to 14-10 overall, and 8-3 in the Southern Conference. ETSU falls to 17-7, and 9-3 in the SoCon. ETSU entered the match with the top record in the SoCon with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Spartans snapped ETSU's eight-match winning streak, and have won eight of their last nine matches, including six-in-a-row.
Jasmine Jones (Stafford, Va./Brook Point) led the Spartans with 17 kills. Jones also added a block solo and a block assist in the match. Lauren Robeck (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) added a career-best 16 kills. The pair hit at .517 and .538 averages, respectively. Robeck also handed out four block assists, and a block solo to go with six digs.
Ashley Muench (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange) connected for 16 kills, while leading the team with 21 digs. Alexis Mourier (Elkview, W.Va./George Washington) connected for 10 kills, including the match winner.
Allison Penner (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) led all competitors with 55 assists, and chipped in 16 digs.
The Spartan defense came to play, as five players earned double-digit digs. Along with Muench and Penner, Christina Gregory (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) earned 19 digs, Ronni Katarzynski (Winfield, Ill./West Chicago) added 15, with Anna Romaniszyn (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek) finishing with 12.
The first set proved to be the lone blemish for UNCG on the night. ETSU raced out to a four-point lead early. The Bucs maintained that lead until the Spartans cut it to 12-10, before ETSU scored five-straight. UNCG used a small four-point run, aided by kills from Robeck, and two ETSU attack errors to cut the lead to 20-17 before ETSU closed the set scoring five-straight points.
UNCG came out firing in the second set, earning a 12-5 lead before ETSU could slow the attack. The Spartans maintained a 7-9 point cushion throughout the match before the Bucs could come within five at 22-17. UNCG then scored three of the last four points to even the match at one set each. UNCG hit at a .390 average during the set, committing just two attack errors.
The third set was all UNCG again, as ETSU led just twice during the set, and never after leading 4-3. UNCG used four-straight points to take the 7-4 lead, and stretched the lead out to as many as ten at 21-11 before ETSU was able to get something going. UNCG and ETSU went point-for-point down the stretch, as a pair of kills from Muench closed it out. The Spartans hit at a .311 average throughout the third set.
The final set was back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than five points. ETSU earned their largest lead of the set at 11-9, before the Spartans used a 4-1 run to take the lead at 13-12. After back-to-back kills from Muench extended the Spartan lead to 19-15, UNCG earned its largest lead at 22-17 following kills form Robeck, Penner and Mourier. ETSU climbed back into the set, cutting the lead to 24-23 before a kill from Mourier gave the Spartans the set, and the match.
UNCG returns to action next Friday Nov. 4th as it hosts The Citadel at 7:00 p.m. The match will be broadcasted on ESPN3.
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