East Carolina University
Rutgers
Rutgers Rallies Past Pirates, 3-1
September 03, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2010
NEWARK, Del. - The East Carolina volleyball team took a 1-0 lead against Rutgers Friday afternoon, but could not hold off the Scarlet Knights, falling 3-1 (25-13, 15-25, 18-25, 18-25) in the first match of the Delaware Invitational at Barbara Viera Court. The Pirates are now 0-4 overall while the Scarlet Knights improve to 2-2.
Junior Jackie Varnum led the Pirates with a career high 12 kills while redshirt sophomore Kelly Derby picked up a personal -best 11 blocks. Additionally, freshman Shelby Beasley matched her career standard with 13 digs and added two service aces.
ECU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set but Rutgers rallied to within 6-5. A 4-0 run by the Pirates then forced the Scarlet Knights to take a timeout with the score at 10-5. East Carolina then outscored Rutgers the rest of the way to take the set. Whitney Campbell had three kills in the frame while redshirt junior Nicole Jones recorded four digs.
Rutgers held a 6-4 advantage after the first 10 points of the second set. The Pirates then started to commit attack errors, giving the opposition the ability to produce a number of runs. Rutgers took leads of 17-13 and 22-15 on the way to tying the match at one apiece.
The teams played fairly evenly to begin the third interval. With the Scarlet Knights holding a 12-9 advantage, another run - this time a 6-2 stretch, put the frame out of reach as Rutgers cruised to a 2-1 match lead.
East Carolina held the upper hand at 13-11 when Katie Groff committed an attack error. However, the Scarlet Knights scored seven straight points and never looked back. A Varnum kill brought the Pirates within four at 21-17, but Rutgers ended the match on a 4-1 run.
ECU held the upper hand in hitting, .158-.156, and blocking , 13.0-3.0, but the Scarlet Knights took a slight 47-46 advantage in digs. Andrea Queck set her personal best with 29 assists while Campbell racked up eight digs for a career high mark. The Pirates were also plagued by service errors, committing 13.
East Carolina closes out Delaware Invitational play tomorrow with two matches. The Pirates will take on the host Blue Hens at 12 noon before returning for a meeting with Sam Houston State.
