East Carolina University
UCF
Volleyball Swept At UCF
October 09, 2010 | Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. - After a tight first set ended in favor of UCF Saturday, the East Carolina volleyball team could not muster a rally, falling 3-0 (25-27, 21-25, 13-25) at the Venue at UCF. The Pirates dip to 1-16 overall and 0-5 in C-USA play while the Knights are now 8-9 in 2010 and picked up their first league victory for a 1-4 mark.
A trio of upperclassmen, Britney Roper, Jackie Varnum and Amanda Lutzow tallied eight kills to lead the offense. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Nicole Jones grabbed 13 digs for her third-straight double-digit effort. Complementing the defense, redshirt sophomore Kelly Derby racked up eight blocks.
East Carolina hit over .200 for the first time this season, recording 32 kills on 105 attempts with just 10 errors. However, UCF was better, producing a .299 mark with 53 kills. The Knights had the upper hand defensively as well, snatching 57 digs as compared to 40 for the Pirates.
ECU scored six of the first eight points and led by as many as four at 12-8, until UCF rallied and took its first lead at 15-14. With the score knotted at 15, the Knights went on a modest 3-0 run, forcing head coach Pati Rolf to call the Pirates' first timeout. When Varnum committed an attack error to make the score 20-16, it seemed like UCF was in control. However, East Carolina fought off two set points to tie the score at 24. The Pirates stayed alive at 25-25 but a kill and a block clinched the frame for the home team.
The squads spilt the first six points of the second set then ECU outscored the Knights 4-1 to take a 7-4 cushion on a Derby kill. Later tied at 11, the teams traded scores until the count was 17-17 but UCF put down three-straight balls to take a 20-17 advantage. The Pirates came as close as 22-21, but two kills and an ace ensured that the Knights would go into the intermission leading the match 2-0.
East Carolina's passing was solid at the beginning of the third set, but the Pirates could not put the ball down, helping UCF score the first five points. The Knights cruised from there, taking leads of 13-6 and 15-7 before Rolf used the first timeout of the frame. ECU rallied to within 15-10 on a block, but UCF scored the next two points to put the match out of reach. The Pirates would score just three more times.
The same two teams will match up tomorrow night to close out the two-game set. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. again.
