East Carolina Scores 3-2 Home Victory Over Memphis

Friday, October 7

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

11-5, 1-5AAC

Memphis

8-9, 0-5AAC

Memphis

East Carolina

October 07, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina recorded its first home and league win of the 2016 campaign Friday night, defeating Memphis 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 15-9) in an American Athletic Conference volleyball match inside Minges Coliseum.

Team Records: East Carolina 11-5, 1-5 AAC | Memphis: 8-9, 0-5 AAC

Torbett's Take: "It is always nice to win on your home floor and that is the expectation for this program. We always seem to go the distance with Memphis so we knew it would be an all-out battle. Success in five-set matches has definitely been a hallmark of our program.

"Our outside hitters played very well tonight not only at the net but also on defense. I thought Sabrina (Gonzalez) set a nice match and Lael (Ceriani) had her best performance of the season. Now we hit the road again with some confidence as we head to New Orleans next week."

Senior outsides Sydney Darden and I'Tiana Taylor came through with double-doubles, posting 20 and 17 kills as well as 19 and 13 digs respectively. Gonzalez notched her ninth double-double of the campaign finishing with 54 assists and 19 digs. Defensively, freshman libero Brandee Markwith led all players with 23 digs. Catlin Lilly tallied 18 kills and nine digs to pace the Tigers.

Defense and ball control were key for ECU in the match as the Pirates out-dug Memphis 95-77 and took advantage of 16 Tiger service errors. The teams finished virtually even in hitting percentage with the Purple and Gold ending up with a slight advantage at .159 to .156. East Carolina also edged the visitors in total blocks at 13.0 to 12.5. The Pirates overcame 32 hitting errors but those were somewhat neutralized by Memphis' serving struggles.

Set One: The Tigers took advantage of a pair of attacking errors to grab an early 2-0 lead. ECU fought back to tie the set at four but Memphis scored six of the next eight points to pull ahead 10-6. The Tigers stretched their lead all the way to 17-10 before the Pirates began to answer. A kill by junior middle hitter Natalie Montini sparked a 10-2 run that gave the Purple and Gold its first lead at 20-19. The set settled at a 22-22 deadlock before Memphis eked out the final three points to take the set by that margin.

Set Two: The Tigers jumped on top in the second stanza by a 3-0 score before ECU responded with three-straight points of its own. The teams fought all the way to a tie at 12, but a Pirate block capped a 6-2 run that catapulted East Carolina into the lead by four. Following a Memphis timeout, the Tigers rallied to slice the deficit to 20-18. However, three-straight ECU kills and consecutive aces by Markwith gave the Pirates the set by six points and tied the match at the intermission.

Set Three: East Carolina led for much of the beginning of the third stanza and edged ahead 16-13 after a Darden kill. Memphis kept itself alive with three straight to knot the score before the Pirates put together a three-point string to take a 19-16 advantage and force the Tigers into a timeout. The visitors would not threaten again as ECU secured six of the final 10 points to assume a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set Four: The Pirates found themselves ahead again by the same 16-13 scoreline in the fourth set and looked to be on the way to closing Memphis out. However, the Tigers dug down and put together a 7-1 run that afforded them the upper hand at 20-17 and prompted an ECU timeout. East Carolina would score just three more points the remainder of the frame as Memphis sent the match to the deciding 15-point stanza.

Set Five: The Tigers established the early momentum in the deciding frame, scoring the first two points on a Lilly kill and a block. The Pirates quickly tied things up at two and the sides traded the next four points to forge a 4-4 stalemate. A pair of Darden kills and a solo stuff by Taylor were part of a 4-0 run that gave ECU an 8-4 lead as the teams switched benches. The Purple and Gold kept the pressure on, racing out to an 11-5 edge and sending Memphis scurrying for a timeout. East Carolina went up 13-6 on a block by Montini and Gonzalez before sealing the match fittingly on a Darden kill off the Tiger block.

Bits and Pieces: East Carolina improved to 1-3 at home while Memphis dropped to 1-4 on the road ... The Pirates have won both of their five-set matches this season ... ECU cut into the Tigers' series lead as Memphis now leads it 19-6 ... The win was the first for East Carolina over Memphis in Greenville since the Pirates joined the American Athletic Conference ... ECU has won three of the five meetings with the Tigers since 2014 ... Gonzalez fell just three assists shy of her career high (57 vs. Tulane Oct. 9, 2015 and at Davidson Sept. 5, 2015).

Up Next: The Pirates return to the court Thursday, Oct. 13, with a league match at Tulane. First serve is set for 8 p.m. from Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans.