East Carolina University
10-9, 3-5American
Temple
15-5, 6-2American
Pirates Lose At Temple In Four
October 18, 2015 | Volleyball
PHILADELPHIA -- The East Carolina volleyball team captured the opening set, but Temple claimed the next three to cap a 3-1 American Athletic Conference victory over the Pirates Sunday at McGonigle Hall.
ECU won the opening set, 25-18, before the Owls took the last three by scores of 25-22, 25-12 and 25-23. With the loss, the Pirates dip to 10-9 overall and 3-5 in The American, while Temple improved to 15-5 and 6-2 in conference.
"I thought our team showed a lot of tenacity today," Pirate head coach Julie Torbett said. "Our middles were unstoppable and Natalie Montini played great for us today. Erika Figueroa continues her impressive play, but I was disappointed in our back row players who struggled to pass and defend a very good team. We rely heavily on our other back court players to be successful. Sierra Lee-Dunson also played well. We have needed to have some points from the right side of the net."
East Carolina hit .274 as Ashley McRae led the Pirates with 13 kills and hit .440 for the match. Montini also registered 13 kills, while Aston Mares posted her fifth consecutive double-double with 12 kills and 18 kills. Figueroa also collected 18 digs, while Sabrina Gonzalez had 12 to go along with 48 assists. ECU finished with 64 digs with Temple logging 59.
The Pirates are back in action Friday, Oct. 23, when they host UCF inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.
"We finally are home for the next two weeks and we hope to continue our strong home court play with a 4-1 record in Minges," Torbett said.
