East Carolina University
Southern Miss
Pirates Fall In Three At Southern Miss
October 25, 2009 | Volleyball
Oct. 25, 2009
Southern Miss 3, East Carolina 0
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The East Carolina volleyball team continued its road struggles Sunday, dropping a three-set decision (13-25, 17-25, 19-25) to Southern Miss at the Reed Green Coliseum. The Pirates fall to 9-14 overall and 2-9 in Conference USA while the Golden Eagles move to 21-4 in 2009 and maintain the league lead with a 9-2 ledger.
With Southern Miss holding a 5-4 advantage in the first set, it used a 10-3 run to build an insurmountable 15-7 margin. ECU would pull within 19-13 but it was the last points it would score in the frame.
The Pirates led 4-3 in the second interval before the Golden Eagles edged ahead 14-13. East Carolina held a lead as late as 18-17, but Southern Miss poured it on the rest of the way, scoring the last seven points of the set to take the 2-0 advantage into the intermission.
The Golden Eagles hopped out to a 6-1 margin in the third set, but the Pirates mounted a 7-1 charge to draw within 8-7. However, a 5-0 run gave Southern Miss some breathing room at 13-7. ECU produced one final rally, cutting the deficit to 19-17, but the home team allowed the Pirates just two more points in the match, as it completed the sweep.
Junior Lizzy Bruin paced the offense for East Carolina as she put down seven kills in the match. Defensively, redshirt sophomore Nicole Jones picked up a team-high eight digs while Bruin contributed two blocks.
The Pirates hit just .104 in the contest, while the Golden Eagles showed at .375. Southern Miss also out-dug ECU 48-28 while both teams notched three total blocks.
East Carolina closes out the road portion of its 2009 slate next weekend, traveling to Houston for matches with Rice and Houston. The contest with the Owls is slated for 8 p.m. Friday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
