East Carolina University
3-0
Presbyterian
1-3
East Carolina Tops Presbyterian in Five Sets
September 04, 2015 | Volleyball
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Ashton Mares tallied a double-double while Natalie Montini and Ashley McRae notched career-highs in kills to help lead East Carolina over Presbyterian, 3-2 [25-10, 25-13, 23-25, 23-25, 15-6] at the Davidson Tournament Friday night. With the victory, the Pirates improve to 3-0 on the year, while the Blue Hose falls to 1-3.
"We played great in the first two sets, but we learned a valuable lesson today about momentum and thinking a match is over before it's over," Head coach Julie Torbett said. "Our middles were strong the entire match, but everyone else had moments where they struggled. Our stats look great, but it was the little mistakes that are just discipline and mental toughness."
Mares shined in the box score as she led the Pirates in kills for the second time this season. The sophomore outside hitter recorded a season-high 19 kills, just one shy of tying her career-high, while adding a season-high 10 digs for her first double-double of the year.
The Pirates hit .314 in the match receiving offensive support from Mares' .311 attack percentage as well as McRae, Kierra Lee-Dunson and Montini's efforts. McRae finished the match with a career-best 17 kills while hitting .387 to go along with five block assists. Lee-Dunson turned in a season-best 17 kills on 36 attempts with just three errors to hit .389. She was also a force at the net as she recorded three block assists and one solo block. Montini rounded out the double-figure scoring for ECU with a career-high 15 kills, three total blocks, two digs and one assist while posting a .321 attack percentage.
Junior Sabrina Gonzalez has continued to set the offensive pace for the Pirates this season at the setter position. Against the Blue Hose, she dished out a season-best 56 assists to go along with three digs, a pair of kills and one solo block.
Erika Figueroa, a senior defensive specialist, contributed 33 digs to tie for third in the single-game record book. She led the defense for the third-straight match and helped limit the Blue Hose to just .070 hitting with 36 kills to ECU's 71.
The Pirates dominated the first two sets as they rolled past Presbyterian by scores of 25-10 and 25-13. In the first frame, ECU hit a sizzling .536 as the Pirates knocked down 15 kills without committing an error. East Carolina took the momentum from the first set into the second and posted 13 kills while the defense shut down the Blue Hose as Presbyterian hit -.080 with just four kills.
Presbyterian fought back and evened the set score at 2-all after the Blue Hose edged the Pirates by a pair of 25-23 wins. In sets three and four, ECU put up a good fight and even outhit Presbyterian, but was unable to close out the match.
In the fifth and final game, East Carolina came out swinging. The Pirates took an early 5-0 advantage and never relinquished the lead. Despite their efforts, the Blue Hose was unable to close the gap and ECU rolled to a 15-6 victory to complete the 3-2 win.
The Davidson Tournament continues Saturday, Sept. 5 as the Pirates go up against Hampton at 10 a.m. before taking on Davidson at 6 p.m.
