East Carolina Falls To Tulsa In Three Sets In Minges

Friday, November 4

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

14-9, 4-9AAC

Tulsa

16-9, 5-8AAC

Tulsa

East Carolina

November 04, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After a close and competitive first set, East Carolina could not find its footing the rest of the match as Tulsa recorded a 3-0 (27-25, 25-12, 25-18) American Athletic Conference volleyball victory Friday night at Minges Coliseum.

Team Records: East Carolina: (14-9, 4-9 AAC) | Tulsa: 16-9, 5-8 AAC)

The Rundown: Freshman libero Brandee Markwith proved to be a bright spot on the floor for ECU, leading all players with 18 digs. Junior middle hitter Natalie Montini notched a team-high nine kills to go along with match-best five blocks (two solo). Erica Bohannon paced all competitors on the offensive end with 11 kills while finishing with a .214 hitting percentage.

The Golden Hurricane put down 42 kills on 103 attempts with 16 errors to hit .252 and limited the Pirates to .032 efficiency (27k/24e/95ta). Tulsa also recorded seven aces and did not commit a reception error. East Carolina edged the visitors in total blocks (6.0-5.0) and digs (40-38). The Golden Hurricane was held to an average of 12.67 digs per set after entering the contest leading the nation with an 18.31 mark.

Set One: ECU rattled off three-straight kills to open the contest and led 5-2 before Tulsa battled back to tie the score at seven. The Golden Hurricane later extended its advantage to 17-13 following an ace at which point the Pirates called for timeout. Tulsa looked to be in full control leading 23-16 later in the set, but East Carolina used an 8-1 run to forge at tie at 24 points apiece. After ECU saved another set point to knot the score at 25, a kill and an ace allowed the Golden Hurricane to escape with the two-point victory.

Set Two: Tulsa was the first to 10 in the second stanza after a kill by Jaime Rahilly gave her team a five-point cushion. Keeping the pressure on, the Golden Hurricane raced out to a 15-9 lead and forced a Pirate timeout. East Carolina did not threaten again as Tulsa took the 2-0 set advantage into intermission.

Set Three: The Golden Hurricane doubled up the Pirates 16-8 in the third before ECU signaled for its first timeout of the frame. Tulsa later held match point at 24-14, but an attacking error and three-straight East Carolina blocks cut the lead to 24-18 and prompted a visitor timeout. Haley Coulter sealed the win for the Golden Hurricane with a kill out of the break.

Bits and Pieces: Tulsa improved to 4-5 in true road matches while ECU dropped to 2-5 on its home floor ... The Golden Hurricane upped its advantage to 16-1 in the all-time series with the Pirates ... The match marked the first time all season that East Carolina did not have a player reach double figures in kills ... Senior middle hitter Ashley McRae collected one block to move her into a tie for eighth on the program career list (298 total blocks).

Up Next: ECU closes out the weekend Sunday at 1 p.m., hosting co-league leader SMU. The Mustangs were swept at Cincinnati earlier Friday evening to drop into a first-place tie with the Bearcats.