Volleyball Picks Up First Victory, 3-2

Sept. 18, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After dropping 11-straight matches to begin the season, the East Carolina volleyball team captured a 3-2 (25-17, 26-24, 16-25, 26-28, 15-11) victory over defending America East Conference champion Binghamton Saturday after falling in four sets to Georgetown (19-25, 25-16, 17-25, 16-25) earlier in the day. The Pirates are now 1-11 overall in 2010.

For her efforts, Junior Jackie Varnum was named to the all-tournament team after picking up 26 kills and 12 blocks in three matches. She hit .388 in the event after committing just seven errors.

Varnum led the Pirates with nine kills against Georgetown while Nicole Jones picked up a team-high eight digs. Varnum also posted five blocks (one solo).

The Hoyas also had the advantage in hitting (.186 to .143), kills (50-31), digging (35-29) and blocking (11.0-9.0). ECU also struggled somewhat with passing, allowing nine service aces.

With the score tied at five in the first set, Georgetown went on a 7-3 run to take a 12-8 lead and force a Pirate timeout. The advantage then grew to 16-11, drawing another timeout from East Carolina. The Pirates would get within 23-18 on a bad set by Ashley Malone, but the Hoyas scored the last two out of three points to clinch the set.

ECU established an 11-5 lead in the second frame and would not let Georgetown come any closer than two the rest of the way. The Hoyas made the score 17-15 when Kortney Robinson put the ball down, but the Pirates blitzed Georgetown 8-1 the rest of the way to tie the match.

A 6-2 Hoya run after the third set was knotted at eight made head coach Pati Rolf call a timeout. East Carolina could not respond, however, as the Pirates scored just seven more times in the interval.

The final set was never in doubt as Georgetown sprinted out to an 8-0 lead. ECU would hold off four match points, but the Hoyas ended the match with a Vanessa Dorismond kill.

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in a match for the first time this season against Binghamton before the Bearcats rallied to tie the match with a 28-26 win in the fourth set. East Carolina was ahead 24-21 in the frame but Binghamton held off three match points to eventually send the game to the deciding frame.

The Pirates raced out to a 7-3 advantage in the fifth set, but the Bearcats rallied to tie it at seven. However, ECU used a 5-0 run and forced Binghamton to use both its allotted timeouts. Up 12-7, the Pirates held off another late charge from the Bearcats to clinch the victory.

Three East Carolina players reached double-digit kills with Lutzow, Roper and Varnum recording 16, 14 and 10 each. Senior Marina Gusman-Brown smashed her personal-best mark for digs, tallying a stellar 24. Lutzow and Shelby Beasley also pushed into double digits with 18 and 11, respectively. Lutzow also racked up her third double-double in the process with her kill and dig efforts.

ECU had the edge in hitting .196 to .148 while picking up a 2010 season-best 79 digs. The Pirates were also a force at the net, outblocking Binghamton 17.0-5.0. Freshman Hannah Allgood led the charge with 10 total stuffs.

East Carolina returns to Minges Coliseum Saturday, Sept. 25, as it hosts UTEP in the Conference USA opener for both teams. First serve is set for 2 p.m.

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