East Carolina University
UCF
East Carolina Drops Straight Sets at UCF
October 31, 2014 | Volleyball
ORLANDO, Fla. - East Carolina volleyball suffered a 3-0 [11-25, 22-25, 22-25] sweep at UCF Friday night as the Pirates were out-hit .365 to .151 in the loss. League leader UCF improved to 19-5 overall and 12-0 in American Conference action, while ECU dropped to 11-10 on the season and 3-8 in conference play.
The Pirates started off slow as they recorded more attack errors (9) than kills (7) in the first set. However, East Carolina found its rhythm and hit .243 in the following two matches after registering 27 kills and nine errors on 74 attempts. Despite the Pirates' efforts, UCF used a balance attack to hit .365 throughout the match to complete the sweep.
"After a slow start with a lot of hitting errors we calmed down and played a tight match with the league front runner," Head coach Julie Torbett said. "I think our players showed their grit and that they would not be intimidated by the Knights. We may not be as big or as deep as they are, but we worked really hard at keeping up with them and giving them a match. I am proud of the girls."
UCF's Jale Hervey led the offense with 16 kills on .483 hitting, while Abbie Fleener came off the bench to contributed nine kills and hit .438 in the contest. Jade Hayes posted a match-high 13 digs, while Marie Reiterova and Dana Faught combined for 37 assists as Reiterova posted 11 and Faught added 13.
Sophomore middle hitter Ashley McRae added to her team-leading attack percentage with six kills on 13 attempts with just one error to hit .385. Ashton Mares and Torre Blake led the Pirates with seven kills each, while Zarah Cecich recorded a match-high 27 assists. Sydney Darden and Erika Figueroa registered 11 and 10 digs to pace the ECU defense.
The Knights took an early 3-0 lead and never looked back as UCF hit .367 in the first set, while ECU hit -.062 in the frame. The hosts owned an 83-percent sideout margin and extended their lead to six (7-1) before going on a 5-0 run to take a 17-4 advantage. The Knights went on to coast to a 25-11 victory over the Pirates.
The Pirates came back for the second set and competed with the Knights as they tied the game seven times and exchanged leads four times. East Carolina kept the match close as the Pirates hit .211 with a 47-percent sideout margin. ECU took a 15-11 lead on a kill from McRae forcing the Knights to call a timeout. After the break, UCF evened the score at 17-all, but the Pirates regained the lead 22-20 after three consecutive kills from Natalie Montini, Mares and McRae. UCF battled back and knotted the score at 22-22 on a kill from Hervey. The Knights closed out the set with a 5-0 run to hold off East Carolina, 25-22.
ECU had its best offensive output in the third set as the Pirates notched 13 kills and hit .278 with a 70-percent sideout margin. However, UCF also turned in its best offensive effort of the night as the Knights hit .406 with 17 kills. The two teams fought through 15 ties and four lead changes before UCF broke a 22-22 tie with a kill from Kia Bright. The Knights took advantage of back-to-back ECU attack errors as they closed out the match on a 3-0 run and won by a score of 25-22.
East Carolina continues its Florida road trip on Sunday, November 2, when the Pirates take on USF at 11 a.m. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
