East Carolina University
SMU
SMU Dispatches East Carolina, 3-0
October 21, 2011 | Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2011
DALLAS, Texas - East Carolina reached the midpoint of Conference USA play Friday night, falling three sets to SMU at Moody Coliseum. The Pirates fall to 2-17 overall and 0-10 in the league while the Mustangs are now 9-13 and 5-5.
Amanda Lutzow posted seven kills for ECU to lead the offense while Kelly Derby racked up a career-best 12 digs - eight in the first set. Lutzow also reached double digits defensively with 10 digs of her own as well as tying Whitney Campbell for the squad best with two total blocks.
SMU held the advantage in a number of statistical categories, including kills (40-22), assists (37-20), digs (69-52) and blocks (8.0-4.0). The Mustangs also sided out at 60 percent in the match as compared to a 44-percent mark for East Carolina.
ECU pushed in front 4-1 at the outset, but the Mustangs rallied and took advantage of some Whitney Campbell hitting struggles - forcing the Pirates to take a timeout with a 12-9 advantage. Dana Powell made the score 15-11 as SMU looked comfortably ahead, but East Carolina answered with a 11-8 run to pull within 24-23. However, Courtney Manning ended the frame with a kill.
The second interval was nip and tuck through the beginning, but with the score tied at nine, the Mustangs ripped off nine consecutive points to put the set out of reach. SMU cruised to the end, taking the frame by a 25-12 count.
The Pirates found themselves down 5-1 to start the third set, but quickly rallied to within 7-6 on an Amanda Lutzow kill. ECU completed the comeback, scoring 12 of the next 21 points to push ahead 18-16. However, the Mustangs received a Caroline Young kill to edge in front 20-19. East Carolina would score just once more as SMU completed the sweep.
ECU returns to Minges Coliseum Sunday when league leader Tulsa travels to Greenville. The match is set for 1 p.m.
