JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Citadel dropped the first match of its two-tilt set with ETSU on Sunday afternoon, falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-22) to the Bucs inside the J. Madison Brooks Gymnasium.
 
Score: ETSU 3, The Citadel 0
Records: The Citadel (5-11, 3-8), Chattanooga (5-6, 5-6)
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. (J. Madison Brooks Gymnasium)
 
How it Happened

• The Citadel opened up an early 6-3 lead after a kill from Sharlissa de Jesus, but a 4-1 run by the Bucs leveled the score at 7-7 following a kill from Jenna Forster.
• Neither side could gain more than a point of separation until another 4-1 run by ETSU left the Bucs with an 18-15 edge midway through the opening set.
• From there, the Bulldogs were unable to regain the lead and ETSU scored the final three points of the set for the 25-20 victory.
• Much like the opening set, the second set was a tight affair until the Bucs used an 8-2 run to turn a 7-6 deficit into a 14-9 advantage as Forster hammered down two more kills.
• Late in the set, de Jesus' kill cut the deficit to 20-14, but ETSU closed out the frame with five consecutive points to go up by two sets.
• In the third set, the two sides battled to a 12-12 draw, going nearly point-for-point in the process.
• From there, however, ETSU used a 5-0 run to briefly grab control of the match before The Citadel stormed back, scoring five straight of its own as a ballhandling error by the Bucs leveled the set at 19-19.
• ETSU again pushed ahead with four unanswered points to take a 23-19 lead before the Bulldogs cut the deficit to just one following an ace from Faith Justice.
• A kill from Sara Esposito and an ace from Sydney Allen ended the match for the Bucs as The Citadel's comeback effort fell just short.

Inside the Box Score

• Mellanie King finished with a team-best eight kills and is now just 17 shy of 1,000 for her career; should she hit that mark, she would become the sixth member of The Citadel's 1,000-kill club and would join teammate Sharlissa de Jesus.
• de Jesus notched seven kills and a team-high eight digs.
• Amie Greene, the reigning SoCon Setter of the Week, dished out 25 assists and added three digs and a pair of kills.
• Seeing her first action since March 1 at Wofford, Maya Elassal had two kills and a block assist.
• Faith Justice (two aces) recorded just the second multi-ace match of her career and first since having four aces against South Carolina State on Sept. 13, 2019.

 
Up Next
The Citadel will be back in action for its second match at ETSU on Monday afternoon at 5 p.m. inside J. Madison Brooks Gymnasium in Johnson City.