Volleyball Drops Season Finale At Memphis, 3-0

Saturday, November 26

Memphis, Tenn.

3:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

15-15, 5-15

Memphis

15-17, 7-13

East Carolina

Memphis

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

November 26, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – East Carolina took the court one final time in the 2016 season Saturday afternoon, but fell to Memphis 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 28-26) in an American Athletic Conference match inside the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Team Records: East Carolina: 15-15. 5-15 AAC /// Memphis: 15-17, 7-13 AAC

Torbett's Take: "It was a close fought battle. Ashley McRae finished with an impressive performance. I'Tiana (Taylor) and Sabrina (Gonzalez) were also strong contributors. We shut down McKenzie Hayes but had no answers for their middles our outsides. I am disappointed we fell short but proud of the season and the fact we have the first non-losing season in a decade."

The Rundown: Senior middle hitter Ashley McRae put another flawless offensive performance together in her final appearance in the Purple and Gold, putting down a match-high 14 kills with no errors for a .560 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter I'Tiana Taylor chipped in with eight kills, 11 digs, three aces and two blocks. In the back row, freshman libero Brandee Markwith collected 20 digs, while senior outside hitter Sydney Darden also reached double figures with 13 digs. Tai Bierria led Memphis with 13 kills and 12 digs.

The Tigers racked up 49 kills to the Pirates' 40 and finished with the slight edge in digs (47-46) and total blocks (6.0-5.0). Memphis hit .298 while limiting ECU to .218 efficiency.

Set One: A trio of kills allowed East Carolina to take an early 3-1 advantage before Memphis netted eight of the next 11 points to pull ahead 8-6. A bad set on the Pirate side of the net saw the Tigers establish a 13-9 lead and prompt an ECU timeout, but two consecutive aces by Markwith cut the Memphis edge to just one at 14-13. The Tigers made the last push in the frame, building a 20-14 cushion on the way to the six-point margin of victory.

Set Two: Memphis created some separation early in the stanza after a Catlin Lilly kill made the score 8-5. East Carolina battled back to tie the set at 10, but a 4-0 run gave the Tigers some breathing room and forced the Pirates to burn a timeout. ECU was able to rally within two a couple of times, the latest at 22-20, but Memphis recovered to score three of the final four points to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Set Three: The Tigers attempted to pull away as the frame commenced, taking an 8-6 lead. The Pirates responded with four straight to assume a two-point advantage of their own. East Carolina utilized its first timeout of the stanza later, trailing 18-16, but fell further behind a couple of rallies later when a Lilly kill made the score 21-18. A Memphis service error, followed by kills by Montini and Gonzalez, made it a new set with the score tied at 21. After the Tigers secured the next two points to go ahead 23-21, ECU fired off a 3-0 run to take its first set point. Memphis would eventually claim the frame in extra points at 28-26 to secure the win.

Bits and Pieces: ECU completed the campaign with its first non-losing season since 2006 … McRae finishes her career as the program's leader in hitting percentage at .326 as well as seventh in total blocks (315) … McRae also produced the best single-season hitting percentage mark in school history at .369 … Gonzalez ends her time with the team ranked sixth with 2,144 assists in only two seasons … Gonzalez also recorded 1,116 this season, a mark good for 10th on the East Carolina single-season list … The Tigers and Pirates have now split the season series the last three years … Head Coach Julie Torbett enters next season needing just seven victories to reach 400 for her career.