East Carolina University
Tulane
East Carolina Cruises Past Tulane in 3-0 Sweep
November 09, 2014 | Volleyball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina hit .281 with 7.0 total team blocks as the Pirates completed the three-match sweep of conference foe Tulane by scores of 25-22, 25-22, 25-13 Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena inside Minges Coliseum. The win gave ECU its fourth league victory of the season as the Pirates improved to 12-12 and 4-10 in the American. The Green Wave has now lost seven in a row and drops to 5-21 on the year and 3-11 in conference action.
The Pirates and Green Wave played a close set in the first frame and ECU went onto defeat Tulane, 25-22. East Carolina came back in the second set and took an early lead and never looked back. The Pirates led throughout both the final sets of the match en route to winning in straight sets for just their second-ever win over the Green Wave in program history.
"I'm excited for the sweep," Head coach Julie Torbett said. "We really played well enough to dominate the entire match. We had lots of big leads and that allows us to play a lot more loose and confident. It was an overall good match for the whole team."
Senior setter Zarah Cecich paced the Pirates' offense as she dished out 38 assists to go along with 12 digs, two kills, a pair of block assists and one service ace. She finished the contest with a .667 attack percentage and her eighth double-double of the year. She received offensive support from sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden and freshman outside hitter Ashton Mares who both led ECU with 12 kills apiece. Darden added nine digs, two block assists and three aces while hitting .320 and Mares contributed nine digs with one assist and one block assist.
"Sydney does really well when we're in system which means we have all our options," Torbett explained. "I thought today she did a really good job limiting her errors, which she needs to do from now on."
Tulane's Tea Juric was the Green Wave's offensive leader with 11 kills, while Ally Frank recorded 24 assists and Sarah Ray contributed seven digs for the visitors.
East Carolina got off to a quick start as the Pirates took an 8-4 advantage to begin the match. However, Tulane fought back and tied the set at 11-all on a block assist from Juric and Sarah Strasner. ECU would not back down as the Pirates and Green Wave traded points through seven ties and five lead changes until the Pirates took an 18-17 lead on a kill from Natalie Montini. From there, ECU held the edge on Tulane and went on to win the first set, 25-22.
The Pirates used a balanced offense to take an early 6-0 lead over Tulane in the second set. ECU hit .323 in the frame and knocked down 15 kills. East Carolina led throughout the frame and pushed its lead to as many as 10 (12-2). Just as the game looked to be out of reach, Tulane began chipping away at the Pirates' lead and cut their advantage to three (23-20). ECU utilized a timeout and came back on the court to win the set, 25-22.
"I think we got too confident and comfortable in the second set," Torbett said. "We've got to stay sharp and stay on our game. But sometimes we play too tight, so it's kind of a fine line. I'm glad we had that big of a cushion if we're going to let them come back. That could have hurt us."
ECU learned from the second set and controlled the third game as the Pirates hit .321 with 12 kills, while holding Tulane to just .053 hitting. East Carolina took a 3-0 lead and never looked back as the hosts held the lead during the entire set and kept the Green Wave at a distance. The Pirates paced themselves and cruised to a 25-13 set win to complete the sweep over Tulane.
The Pirates finished the contest with 43 kills, 42 assists, 50 digs, 7.0 team blocks and five aces while hitting .281. The Green Wave struggled as they hit .096 in the contest with 29 kills, 26 assists, 32 digs, 4.0 team blocks and three service aces.
East Carolina will take a break from American Conference action when it travels to Princess Anne, Md., Tuesday, November 11, to take on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore at 5:30 p.m. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
