East Carolina University
10-11, 3-7
USF
7-15, 4-6
Pirates Lose To USF At Home In Three
October 25, 2015 | Volleyball
Greenville, N.C. - The East Carolina volleyball team closed a tough American Athletic Conference weekend homestand with a 3-0 (17-25, 21-25, 19-25) loss to USF on Sunday afternoon inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. With the loss, ECU falls to 10-11 overall and 3-7 in The American. USF improved to 7-15 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
The Pirates were held to a .122 hitting percentage, while the Bulls hit .256 with 51 kills compared to only 29 by ECU. Sophomore outside hitter Ashton Mares continued to lead the Pirates as she recorded her seventh straight double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs. Senior libero Erika Figueroa added 13 digs and junior setter Sabrina Gonzalez paced East Carolina with 25 assists.
"It's a learning process and we have to learn to get better and fight through some things," ECU Head Coach Julie Torbett said. "When our middles aren't connecting that always poses a problem. We started to light it up a little bit in the third set, but it was just a little too late."
USF's Dakota Hampton finished the day with a match-high 14 kills, while Denise Belcher added 13 and two other players had eight. Molly Burkhardt had 22 assists and four Bulls recorded double-digit digs.
The opening set was tied at 16-16 before the Bulls scored five consecutive points to seize control. USF went on to win the first set 25-17 behind a .273 hitting percentage, while the Pirates hit .158 to start the match.
The Bulls outlasted the Pirates in the second set, 25-21, as they hit .300 in the set compared to .103 by ECU. USF registered 18 kills in the set against ECU's 10. The final set ended with a 25-19 victory for the Bulls, as the Pirates posted just nine kills with a .105 hitting percentage, although they did hold USF to its lowest hitting percentage of the match at .200.
East Carolina returns to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Friday, Oct. 30, to face conference foe Tulsa at 7 p.m., before closing the weekend against SMU on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 12 p.m.
