ETSU topples Furman

from staff reports

   The East Tennessee State Lady Buccaneer volleyball squad posted a thrilling 3-2 (30-18, 22-30, 30-21, 15-13) win over Furman on Friday night at Brooks Gymnasium.
   The Lady Bucs (16-3, 11-3 SoCon) jumped out to an early lead in game one andcruised to a 30-18 victory.
   Game two saw an almost complete turnabout as the Lady Palladins (12-9, 8-7) won going away 30-22.
   Game three was an exciting back-and-forth match that went down to the wire before the Lady Bucs pulled it out. In that game, the Lady Bucs appeared to have the contest well in hand, with a 14-10 lead before Furman went on a six point run to take a 16-14 advantage.
   ETSU eventually cut the Palladin lead to 29-28, but Furman got the clinching point moments later.
   The decisive fifth game was tense as the two teams again went down to the wire. After the Lady Bucs once again grabbed a 14-10 lead, Furman then won three straight to close to within 14-13 before the Bucs added the clincher.
   Carey Cavanaugh led the Lady Bucs with 62 assists, 19 digs and 10 kills as six ETSU palyers logged double-digit kills. Lissa Allen led the team with 17, followed by Natalie Atzinger's 15, Karen Freeburg's 14 and Amber Ciskowski's 13. Rachel Shifflet added 10 kills on the night.
   Laura Bush led the Lady Palladin scoring with 18 kills, while Abby Simon tacked on 17 to Furman's scoring line.
   The Bucs return to action today at 2 p.m. at Brook's Gym when they take on Wofford.
   SOCCER
   Lady Catamounts blank ETSU
   Sophomore Jordan Howell scored two goals for Western Carolina -- with both coming in the first 18 minutes of play -- to lead the Catamounts to a 4-0 white-washing of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on Friday.
   Western, who ranks 10th in the Southeast Region improved to 9-0 in home matches and stand 13-4 overall (7-2 SoCon). The Lady Bucs struggles continue as they fell to 2-12, 1-7 SoCon.
   The Lady Cats opened the match controlling the ball and setting the stage for an early attack, registering a shot on goal just one minute into play.
   Howell got the Cats on the scoreboard at the 8:10 mark of the first half with an assist going to Kelly Barker on the play. Just over nine minutes later Howell struck again to give Western a two goal advanatge.
   For Howell, who dribbled around the Bucs defense before firing an open look shot from 10 feet out, tallied her 12th goal of the season at the 17:38 mark.
   Sophomore Lauren Bramlett scored an unassisted goal in the 26th minute of play, as the Lady Catamounts continued to put the pressure on the ETSU defense.
   Western took the three-goal lead into the intermission and were never threatened in the second half.
   Mandi Tinsley and Tina Weaver combined to register the shutout, as the pair faced just three shots, with each registering a save. Weaver, who played 58 minutes in this contest had a fine punch save in the first half to preserve the shutout, denying Elizabeth Smith a scoring opportunity.
   Bucs keeper Heather Sanden made 12 saves on Western's 23 shots.
   The Lady Bucs travel to Chattanooga for a match today at 2 p.m.
   TENNIS
   Toledo advances to Quarterfinals of Region III championships
   The Vols Mario Toledo won his fourth straight match Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Omni Hotels Region III championships, being held at the Varsity Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
   A senior, Toledo defeated Florida's Eleazor Magallan on Saturday 6-3, 6-4 thereby raising his record to 9-5. The No. 2 - seeded Toledo will face Georgia's Nicholas Boeker in the quarterfinal round.
   Boeker ended the Vols' freshman Mark Dietrich's run to the quarters, defeating him by 6-4, 6-4 scores.
   "Mario has played his way into this tournament," said UT head coach Michael Fancutt. "He is getting stronger with each match. Dietrich has also had a great tournament regardless of his result today. He has shown great promise as a Volunteer."
   The Vols doubles tandem of Toledo and sophomore Simon Rea won both of their matches to advance to the semi-final round. They will take on Mississippi State's Carvahlo and Lebelicard today in semi-final action.
   "These guys are looking real good out there," said Fanicutt. "They have been stringing wins together since the All-American (Oct 5-12) and they now have won four in a row here and are in contention."