Johnson City, Tenn.- The Tiger volleyball team faced East Tennessee State in their last preseason match on Tuesday. The Bucs defeated the Tigers in three straight sets, 25-11, 25-21 and 25-23.

The Tigers got out to a slow start, falling behind 15-10 in the first set. A couple of service aces and kills from ETSU would eventually give the Bucs a 22-10 lead before a kill from Ayanna Chase would tack on one more point to TSU's score. The kill would be the last for the Tigers in the first set, as two more kills and a service aces from the Bucs would end the first set 25-11. The Bucs held the Tigers to a .077 hitting percentage, while ETSU hit a whopping .583 in the first set.

TSU jumped ahead 15-12 in the second set before four back-to-back Buc kills would give ETSU a 16-15 lead. Tiger errors and a few more kills from East Tennessee would be all the Bucs needed to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Tigers battled hard the third set, tying things up with ETSU five times throughout the set. Unfortunately, ETSU's defense would make it difficult for the Tiger offense to produce. The Bucs held TSU to a .026 hitting percentage with only eight kills in the third, while ETSU posted a .133 percentage and 14 kills for the set.  

The Tigers were led by freshman Ayanna Chase, who posted a .294 hitting percentage with six kills on 14 attempts and three blocks. Sophomore Samantha Beltran led the team with 20 assists and junior Taylor Patterson led Tigers with 10 digs through three sets.

The Tigers head to Morehead, Ky. to open up conference play against OVC rival Morehead State on Friday before making their way to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.

For more news and updates on TSU volleyball follow @TnStateVB.

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