East Carolina University
11-18, 4-14
Tulane
10-20, 4-14
East Carolina Drops Five-Set Tussle At Tulane
November 22, 2015 | Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS, La. - East Carolina closed out its 2015 road schedule with a 3-2 (25-17, 26-28, 19-25, 25-19, 12-15) setback to Tulane Sunday in an American Athletic Conference match at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Sophomore outside hitter Ashton Mares paced the offense with 18 kills and was joined in double figues by junior middle hitter Ashley McRae and senior middle hitter Kierra Lee-Dunson who tallied 11 each. Junior setter Sabrina Gonzalez notched her 13th double-double of the season recording 27 assists and 12 digs. Defensively, senior libero Erika Figueroa, who set the program single-season dig record Friday, came up with a match-high 20 digs. Junior outside hitter Sydney Darden and senior defensive specialist Lauren Bewick collected 12 digs apiece.
The teams were exactly even in terms of hitting percentage with Tulane (10-20, 4-14 AAC) and East Carolina both firing at a .233 clip. The Pirates (11-18, 4-14 AAC) held the upper hand in the dig column 77-73 as well as a significant advantage in total blocks 13.0-5.0.
"We had some good performances again from Ashton, Erika and Ashley," head coach Julie Torbett said. "Unfortuantely it was not quite enough to come out on top today."
McRae put East Carolina off and running with a kill to open the match. Neither team could build more than a two-point advantage for much of the early going but Tulane was able to turn an 11-10 edge into a 15-11 lead following a kill by Sarah Ray. A block by Lee-Dunson and sophomore middle Natalie Montini sparked the Pirates out of their timeout and ECU went on to score seven of the next eight points to push ahead at 18-16. East Carolina did not let the Green Wave back into the frame, ultimately ending it on a 14-2 run to take an early match lead.
Tulane built another 15-11 lead in the middle of the second stanza but once again, the Pirates had the answer. ECU scored nine of the next 14 points to pull even at 20. The teams went back and forth and East Carolina had a couple of chances to out the frame away late. However, the Green Wave was able to escape and win the set by a 28-26 margin to tie the match at intermission.
Tulane broke an early 3-3 deadlock in the third with four consecutive points. The Pirates were not quite able to pull even as the set wore on, and was as close as 16-14 following an attacking error by Ray, but the Green Wave proceeded to win the set by six and take a 2-1 match advantage.
With the score knotted at six in the fourth set, East Carolina used a kill by Lee-Dunson to go on a 7-0 spurt and take full control of the proceedings. Tulane was able to draw within 20-17 late, but ECU closed it out with a block by McRae and freshman setter Haley Bidgood.
The Green Wave edged out to a 3-1 lead in the deciding set before an attacking error by Annie Shurtz helped the Pirates draw within a point at 4-3. Tulane looked to pull away and netted the next five points to extend its advantage to 9-3. ECU put together one last response and sliced its deficit to 12-10 after a Green Wave attacking error. The home side was able to wrestle the next two points away, however, and clinched the match on a kill by Tea Juric.
East Carolina returns home next week for a pair of AAC matches against UConn and Temple. The Pirates will battle the Huskies Wednesday before taking on the Owls Friday. Both matches are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
