East Carolina University
10-7, 3-3American
Houston
14-4, 4-2American
ECU Takes Down First-Place Houston In Three
October 11, 2015 | Volleyball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina volleyball team defeated Houston in straight sets (28-26, 25-22, 25-20) on Sunday inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, posting its second consecutive series win over the Cougars.
The Pirates improved to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in the American Athletic Conference, while Houston fell to 14-4 overall and 4-2 in conference.
"When you've been the underdog and you're trying to build a program, you're used to having to scrape and scrap and not used to being on top," Pirate head coach Julie Torbett said. "[Houston] came in tied for first and the only team to beat SMU, who we just played a rough match with last weekend. We knew they were going to be tough, so we're very excited to get a win and a sweep."
Sophomore Natalie Montini registered 10 kills on .455 hitting in the contest with classmate Ashton Mares recording a team-best 11 kills to give the Pirates their sixth sweep of the season. Junior setter Sabrina Gonzalez was responsible for 37 of the team's 40 assists, while senior Erika Figueroa tallied 21 digs to pace the defense.
The Pirates took the first set going into extra points, 28-26. With the score tied at 26, Mares and Ashley McRae blocked an attempted attack to give ECU the lead. McRae then blocked another attack to give the Pirates the first set. ECU held its highest hitting percentage of the match in the first set with a .457 mark.
With the match tied 2-2, ECU scored four consecutive points and never trailed again, eventually winning the stanza, 25-20. Houston rallied to tie the match at 17-17, but the Pirates scored the next two points and didn't allow the Cougars to tie the match again.
In the third set, East Carolina tallied four straight points to hold a 15-10 advantage and finished the set en route to its sweep, 25-22.
East Carolina returns to conference play Friday, Oct. 16, on the road at Connecticut before traveling to Philadelphia to take on Temple on Oct. 18.
