Bucs mount five set comeback to shock Bulldogs
Published 8:56 am Monday, October 17, 2022
- Contributed Photo ETSU Junior Jenna Forster was a force to be reckoned with, lighting the court on fire with a career-high 22 kills for an even .300 percentage.
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Forster leads ETSU volleyball with career attacking night
JOHNSON CITY – Down, but never out.
For the first time since 2018, ETSU volleyball overcame a two-set deficit and won the final three sets of a Southern Conference showdown against The Citadel on Saturday in Brooks Gym. The last time ETSU lost the first two sets in a win was against Samford on Oct. 27, 2018 in Birmingham.
The Bucs are now 13-7 overall and end the first round of conference matches with a 7-1 record to remain atop the league standings. ETSU has won 13 of its last 15 matches after an 0-5 start to the season. Meanwhile, the defending conference champion Bulldogs fall to 9-12 overall and 2-6 in the SoCon.
There were 12 lead changes in the first two sets, as The Citadel outlasted the Bucs 27-25 and 28-26 to take a two set lead. The next three sets were a different story, as ETSU never trailed again and won the final three sets 25-15, 25-20 and 15-11.
Junior Jenna Forster (Maryville, Tenn.) was a force to be reckoned with, lighting the court on fire with a career-high 22 kills for an even .300 percentage. Her previous career-high was 19 kills, which came against the same opponent in the same gym back in Spring 2021. The southpaw also added a team-high four aces in the win.
Three other Bucs aided the comeback with double-doubles of different varieties. Freshman Brianna Cantrell (Appleton, Wis.) had her second double-double in as many matches with 20 kills and 18 digs. The kills tied her career-high set against East Carolina, while the digs set a new career-high, which was previously 14 against USC Upstate.
The second double-double came from sophomore Haley Sanders (Brentwood, Tenn.), who put on the libero jersey and led the team with 23 digs while adding 10 assists. Both numbers were career-highs for the Brentwood native, coming together for her first collegiate double-double.
Sophomore setter Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) had the other double-double with a team-high 40 assists and 17 digs. Dykes had some help at the setter position in the form of local sophomore McKenna Dietz (Gray, Tenn.). The Daniel Boone product added nine assists and three digs over the final four sets.
In total, 14 players got involved in Saturday’s action with half of those appearing in all five sets.
ETSU’s attack stumbled out of the gates, totaling a .081 percentage, but went on to hit above .300 in the next four sets to spark the comeback. The fifth set is where the percentages peaked as ETSU posted a .375 clip with eight kills on 16 attacks.
For the match, the Bucs outhit The Citadel .271 to .234 with a slight 69-64 advantage in kills.
The Bucs begin the next half of conference play on the road next week with back-to-back matches in South Carolina. The road swing begins at Furman on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. and ends at Wofford on Oct. 22 at 6 p.m.
For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball page.
