East Carolina University
Eastern Illinois
Pirates Hold off Eastern Illinois in Five Sets
September 19, 2014 | Volleyball
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Behind double-doubles from Sydney Darden and Zarah Cecich as well as a career-high from Kierra Lee-Dunson, the East Carolina volleyball team defeated Eastern Illinois, 3-2 [25-22, 24-26, 24-26, 25-18, 15-8] in the first match of the Penn State Alumni Classic. With the win, the Pirates improve to 5-0 on the year marking their best start since 2008, while the Panthers fall to 5-5.
Lee-Dunson led the offensive attack with a career-best 20 kills while hitting .531. She paced four Pirates who tallied double-figure kills in Darden (16), Ashton Mares (15), and Ashley McRae (13). Darden added 17 digs to collect her fourth double-double in five matches, while Mares and McRae's numbers were good for career-highs as well.
"I thought our middles played great," Head Coach Julie Torbett said of Lee-Dunson and McRae. "If we could get the ball to them more often that would be great. Kierra was perfect for a portion of the match before they had to make an adjustment on her. It's great when you have upperclassmen getting career-highs."
Additionally, Cecich notched a season-high 58 assists to go along with 13 digs for her first double-double of the year. She also contributed seven kills, three service aces and a pair of blocks while hitting .308.
"I thought Zarah did a really good job out there," Torbett said. "She got a new season-high in assists. It's really nice to see our upperclassmen leading us."
Defensively, junior libero Lauren Bewick set the tone with 17 digs, while junior defensive specialist Erika Figueroa added 13.
The Pirates held a steady lead throughout the first set. Although the Panthers battled, ECU managed to control the ball well and hold off Eastern Illinois for a 25-22 victory.
Eastern Illinois took the second and third sets by identical scores of 26-24. The Pirates fought hard but came up just short in both frames.
East Carolina hit .577 with 17 kills in the fourth set as the Pirates led throughout. The Panthers hung around but were unable to overcome the Pirates' balanced offense. ECU went on to force a fifth and deciding set after taking a 25-18 win in the fourth.
The Pirates drew first blood in the fifth set off of a kill from McRae. The game was close early in the frame, but the Pirates jumped out to a 10-7 lead forcing the Panthers to call a timeout. East Carolina closed out the match on a 5-1 run to take the fifth set, 15-8.
ECU will play again at 1 p.m. against Illinois-Chicago in the second match of the Penn State Alumni Classic.
