East Carolina Trips Tulane 3-1 For First-Ever Victory In New Orleans

Thursday, October 13

New Orleans, La.

8:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

12-5, 2-5

Tulane

12-7, 4-3

East Carolina

Tulane

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

East Carolina Trips Tulane 3-1 For First-Ever Victory In New Orleans

October 14, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The East Carolina volleyball team has embodied the term "road warriors" all season and Thursday night's match at Tulane proved no different as the Pirates continued their success away from home with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 27-29, 25-23) victory over the Green Wave in an American Athletic Conference contest at Devlin Fieldhouse. The win was the first ever for the program in New Orleans.

Team Records: East Carolina 12-5, 2-5 AAC | Tulane: 12-7, 4-3 AAC

Torbett's Take: "The story of tonight's match was definitely Ashley McRae. I demanded this level of play from her before the match and she delivered. I am so proud of this team for the way it competed tonight with all of the adversity we have faced this week. This group really takes care of each other and defines our athletic department's slogan of 'Undaunted.' Tulane had a great crowd and a wonderful atmosphere in the building tonight and we were able to feed off of that energy."

McRae was sensational, tying for match-high honors with 15 kills while making just two errors for a .448 hitting percentage. She also added four blocks for good measure. Senior outside hitter I'Tiana Taylor and junior middle hitter Natalie Montini also reached double figures offensively with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Continuing to provide steady play at the setter position, Sabrina Gonzalez filled up the stat sheet with 43 assists, 11 digs and four kills with no errors for a .667 hitting percentage. Defensively, freshman libero Brandee Markwith paced all players in the match with 20 digs while junior defensive specialist Alex Jessett and senior outside hitter Sydney Darden chipped in with 12 and 11 digs respectively.

Sarah Ray led the home side with 15 kills and 12 digs but hit only .128 thanks to nine offensive miscues.

East Carolina was the better side in most of the statistical categories. The Pirates out-hit the Green Wave .238 to .172 while also out-digging the hosts 72-62. ECU compiled nine total blocks and limited Tulane to six.

Set One: Sarah Strasner started things off with a kill to give the Green Wave the first point of the match. The Pirates would knot the score at five following a kill by junior outside hitter Lael Ceriani but would fall behind 13-10 when Tea Juric put down a kill. ECU dug deep and scored five of the next six points to take a 15-14 lead and a point-for-point battle ensued from there. The Purple and Gold were able to creep in front 20-19 after a Montini kill and later reached set point at 24-21 on a kill by Darden. Tulane attempted to squash the momentum with a timeout, but Darden finished the job by slamming down an overpass to give East Carolina the four-point victory.

Set Two: Things looked rather bleak for the Pirates in the second frame as they got off to a slow start and eventually fell behind by a 14-7 margin. Unfazed, the Purple and Gold began to rally. A kill by Montini sliced the Green Wave advantage to four at 16-12 and prompted a Tulane timeout. East Carolina continued to surge, however, and capped the phenomenal 13-5 run that propelled the Pirates ahead 20-19. With the score even at 20, McRae came alive and put down a kill as well as teamed up for two blocks to put ECU on the verge of the set victory at 23-20. The Green Wave mustered two more points, but McRae finished the job with a kill that gave the Pirates the stanza by three.

Set Three: It was East Carolina that jumped out early in the third frame, building a 9-5 cushion. Tulane responded and was able to even things at 15 following a Pirate attacking error, but ECU scored three straight to force a Green Wave timeout. An attacking error by Ray later found East Carolina enjoying a 23-20 advantage. However, Tulane captured the next three rallies to tie the set at 23. Darden gave the Pirates match point at 24-23 with a kill, but the Green Wave fought it off to send the stanza to extras. East Carolina had a couple of opportunities down the stretch to put the match away before Tulane gathered just enough momentum to take it 29-27.

Set Four: The teams fought through lead changes and ties in the fourth all the way to a deadlock at 11-11. ECU forced its hand from there, scoring five of the next six points to take a 16-12 lead. The Pirates would not budge, extending its upper hand all the way to 20-15 as the Green Wave was sent scrambling for both of its timeouts. A Tulane attacking error afforded the Purple and Gold three match points with a 24-20 advantage, but three-straight scores pulled the Green Wave within one. East Carolina slammed the door shut in the end, using a Montini kill to seal the set by two and the match.

Bits and Pieces: ECU improved to 6-2 in true road contests while Tulane dropped to 1-5 at home … The Pirates' first-ever win in New Orleans cut the Green Wave lead in the series to 16-4 … East Carolina has matched its win total from last season with its 12th triumph of 2016 … ECU's .238 hitting percentage was its highest in an AAC match this season … The Pirates have won at least one set in every match away from Minges Coliseum this campaign … Junior defensive specialist Megan Williams made her first collegiate start.

Up Next: East Carolina looks for the weekend sweep when it travels to Houston for a Saturday matchup. The Pirates and Cougars will do battle inside the Athletics/Alumni Center at 1 p.m.