East Carolina University
10-14, 3-10
USF
9-17, 6-8
USF Downs East Carolina in Three in Tampa
November 06, 2015 | Volleyball
TAMPA, Fla. -- USF prevailed over East Carolina in three hard-fought sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-20) Friday evening in an American Athletic Conference match at The Corral.
"We changed the lineup tonight and tried a few different things," head coach Julie Torbett said. "Unfortunately, it did not produce a better result."
In her first start of the campaign, junior outside hitter Sydney Darden came up with a match-high 19 digs to go along with three kills and two blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Ashton Mares collected 11 kills and 10 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Additionally, senior libero Erika Figueroa notched 14 digs to bring her season total to 440 -- just one shy of matching her output from last season that stands as the seventh-highest in a single year in program history.
The Bulls (9-17, 6-8 AAC) hit .259 as a team off of 50 kills while holding ECU (10-14, 3-10 AAC) to 36 kills and a .163 hitting percentage. USF also held the upper hand in total blocks at 6.0 - 4.0 but the Pirates got the better of the home side in the dig column by a 66-63 margin. The Bulls were able to keep their errors down as well as they hit .205 or better in each frame.
USF scored six of the first eight points of the match to build an early advantage before a 3-1 ECU run cut the lead to two at 7-5. Trailing 9-5 a couple of rallies later, the Pirates used a kill by senior middle hitter Kierra Lee-Dunson to spark a 6-1 run and take their first lead 11-10. ECU held a 14-12 edge following a kill by Darden but the Bulls were able to net six-straight points to establish some breathing room at 18-14. Another kill by Lee-Dunson kept the set close and drew East Carolina within 19-17. The rally would come up just short though as USF pulled away and took the early match lead.
It was the Pirates who came out the aggressor in the second frame. Kills from four different players helped ECU push in front 7-4 before the Bulls netted three straight to tie things at seven. A service error on the next rally gave East Carolina the lead back but the teams would scrap to tie scores at nine, 10, 11 and 12.
The Pirates received a kill from Montini to capture a 13-12 advantage and pushed the lead all the way to 17-14 but USF responded again with a 5-2 run that tied the frame at 19. The squads traded the next couple of points to settle for a deadlock at 21 before the Bulls scored the final four points of the stanza to win the set and take a 2-0 advantage into the intermission.
A kill by Mares saw ECU snatch a 5-3 lead in the third frame. However, USF scored three of the next four points to forge a 6-6 stalemate. The Bulls built an 11-7 cushion later in the proceedings, only to see East Carolina put together a 4-0 run to pull even. USF responded with five-straight scores of its own, however, and it would prove enough to hold off the Pirates in the end as the Bulls won the third set by five to clinch the victory.
ECU closes out the weekend with a match at UCF Sunday. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
