East Carolina Sweeps Aside Houston 3-0 For Third-Straight AAC Victory

Saturday, October 15

Houston, Texas

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

13-5, 3-5American

Houston

5-14, 0-8American

East Carolina

Houston

East Carolina Sweeps Aside Houston 3-0 For Third-Straight AAC Victory

October 15, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

HOUSTON, Texas. – The East Carolina volleyball team captured its third-straight victory Saturday afternoon, sweeping Houston 30-28, 28-26, 25-17 inside the Athletics/Alumni Center.

Team Records: East Carolina (13-5, 3-5 AAC) | Houston: (5-14, 0-8 AAC)

Torbett's Take: "We executed really well on offense today. Things were not as sharp defensively as in Thursday's match but we still had some nice moments. I think everyone who stepped on the court today contributed in a positive way. It will be nice to get back home after a long week and get ready for another two tough matches against Temple and UConn."

For the second-straight match, senior middle hitter Ashley McRae was a force offensively as she finished the day with 11 kills and a .667 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks. Senior outside hitter I'Tiana Taylor and junior outside hitter Lael Ceriani also recorded 11 kills apiece while Ceriani hit .455 with just one attacking error. Senior setter Sabrina Gonzalez put together a solid match, tallying 46 assists, 13 digs, two kills and a .500 hitting percentage. On the defensive side, freshman libero Brandee Markwith notched 13 digs. Brianna Lynch led the Cougars with 13 kills and three aces.

ECU was very efficient offensively, hitting .348 on the strength of 53 kills on 115 attempts. Houston also went for a high percentage, ending up at .261 after putting down 44 kills on 111 attempts. The Pirates held the slight

Set One: The Pirates got off to a quick 3-1 lead to start the match before the Cougars battled back to tie the score at five. The teams went point for point for much of the stanza, but Houston was able to establish some breathing room late after a Sarah Afflerbaugh kill afforded Houston a 21-19 advantage. The Cougars increased their lead to 22-19 and had set points at 24-22. However, a Montini kill and a block knotted things at 24. Extra points ensued from there but the Purple and Gold had the last word as a Taylor kill and Houston bad set sealed the set for ECU.

Set Two: The Cougars took the upper hand early in the second stanza, pulling ahead 8-5 following a kill by Lynch. The Pirates kept grinding and eventually tied the frame at 10 before a Darden kill put East Carolina in front. Neither side could build a lead of more than two down the stretch as the second frame also went into extra points. ECU had the solution once more, using two McRae kills to win it by two.

Set Three: The Pirates put aside any doubt early in the third, making Houston burn a quick timeout after three McRae kills and a Darden service ace made it 4-1. ECU kept the pedal down, racing to an 8-2 lead on a nice serving run by Darden. The Cougars were able to pull within three a couple of times, but a pair of Darden kills helped the Purple and Gold stretch its cushion to 16-9. That would be more than enough as East Carolina cruised to the eight-point set win to seal the contest.

Bits and Pieces: ECU improved to 7-2 in true road contests in 2016 while Houston dropped to 3-7 at home …The match marked the first-ever weekend road conference weekend sweep for the Pirates as a member of the American Athletic Conference … East Carolina recorded its highest-ever hitting percentage in an AAC match … The Pirates cut into the Cougar lead in the series as Houston now leads it 16-4 … ECU has won two of the last three meetings and two of the last three in Houston … East Carolina is now just three victories away from recording its first winning season since 2006 … Head coach Julie Torbett is now nine wins from 400 for her career.

Up Next: East Carolina returns home for a pair of league matches next week at Minges Coliseum, hosting Temple Friday and UConn Sunday.