East Carolina University
UAB
Pirates Nearly Complete Rally, But Fall To UAB 3-1
October 14, 2007 | Volleyball
Oct. 14, 2007
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina volleyball team nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, but UAB fought off a game point in the fourth frame to take a 3-1 victory inside Minges Coliseum Sunday afternoon. The Pirates dip to 12-11 overall and 3-5 in conference play while the Blazers jump to 16-6 on the season and 6-2 within the conference. Senior Kelley Wernert led all Pirates with 14 kills.
UAB raced to a 12-8 lead to start the match, forcing a timeout from ECU. The Blazers would stretch the lead to 19-10 and not look back, coasting to a 30-22 win and a 1-0 contest lead.
The Pirates took the upper hand in game two, jumping to a 10-6 advantage. However, UAB regroup to take a 14-12 lead. With the match tied at 20, the Blazers out-scored East Carolina 10-3 to capture the frame and lead 2-0 going into the break.
The Pirates responded in game three, taking leads of 13-11, 19-14 and 21-16 to take a 30-26 victory and pull within 2-1 in the match.
UAB took command in the fourth game, blitzing ECU and taking advantages of 15-9 and 22-15. But the Pirates were not done as they fought all the way back to tie the frame at 28. After fighting off game point to tie the game at 29, East Carolina took their own game point at 31-30. However, the Pirates allowed the Blazers to score three-straight to close out the frame and the match.
In addition to Wernert's double-digit effort, sophomore Stephanie Turner provided 12 kills to compliment nine digs. Junior Trish Monroe turned in a strong defensive performance, notching 16 digs. Despite the loss, ECU out-blocked UAB 14-10.5 but came up short in kills (64-58) and assists (56-53). The Blazers edged the Pirates in hitting .181-.171.
East Carolina will return to the court Friday in Huntington as it opens a home and home series with the Thundering Herd. The conference tilt is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Cam Henderson Center, home of this year's Conference USA tournament.
