East Carolina Blanks Fairleigh Dickinson To Remain Unbeaten

Saturday, August 27

Lewisburg, Pa.

10:00 a.m.

East Carolina University

2-0

Fairleigh Dickinson

0-2

Fairleigh Dickinson

East Carolina

East Carolina Blanks Fairleigh Dickinson To Remain Unbeaten

August 27, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LEWISBURG, Pa. – East Carolina made quick work of Fairleigh Dickinson in the third match of the Bucknell Invitational, sweeping the Knights by 25-9, 25-12, 25-16 scores to remain undefeated in the young 2016 campaign.

Another strong offensive performance resulted in a .312 team hitting percentage (42k/13e/93ta) for the Pirates (2-0) while the Purple and Gold limited FDU to a negative showing of -.099 (11k/19e/81ta). A glaring number on the stat sheet was ECU's dominance at the net as it out-blocked Fairleigh Dickinson by an 11.0-3.0 margin. The Pirates also held the upper hand in kills, assists (38-10), service aces (6-2) and digs (46-31) as the Knights were able to sideout at only a 32 percent rate.

A night after senior outside hitter Sydney Darden set a career high in hitting percentage, classmate and middle hitter Ashley McRae followed suit with a near flawless statistical performance. McRae tallied 10 kills with no errors on 16 swings for a personal-best .625 mark and added six blocks. Senior setter Sabrina Gonzalez notched second double-double in as many matches with 32 assists and 10 digs while senior outside I'Tiana Taylor recorded seven kills, two blocks and a .357 hitting mark.

Torbett's Take: "I was very pleased with our performance today on the offensive end. If the women can work on being more consistent throughout every point of the match, this team will really excel. We look forward to a great match tonight to close out the tournament."

Set One: A Taylor kill had the Pirates off and running as the Purple and Gold raced out to an 8-0 advantage to begin the match. ECU would not let up, pulling ahead 16-5 on a big block by Gonzalez and junior middle Natalie Montini. All told, East Carolina would take nine of the final 13 points to hold FDU to single digits in the stanza.

Set Two: ECU found itself in a bit of a battle to begin the second frame but, with the score knotted at eight, a block by McRae and junior outside Ashton Mares sparked a 5-1 run that forced the Knights into a timeout. The Pirates allowed Fairleigh Dickinson just three more points in the set and cruised to the 13-point victory to take a 2-0 lead heading to the third.

Set Three: A kill by Rebecca Sabol afforded the Knights the first point of the third set, but the Pirates quickly built a 6-3 cushion following a kill by Montini. FDU hung around for a while and was as close as 11-9, but a 7-1 spurt put the match away for good as East Carolina clinched it 25-16.

Bits and Pieces: ECU improved to 2-0 for the third-straight campaign … The Pirates upped their advantage in the series with Fairleigh Dickinson to 2-0 … Torbett now sits just 20 victories away from 400 for her career … East Carolina bettered its non-conference record to 28-14 under Torbett … Freshman libero Brandee Markwith started her second-straight match to begin her collegiate career and collected nine digs in the win.

Up Next: East Carolina looks to claim the Bucknell Invitational title later this evening when it faces the host Bison at 6 p.m.