East Carolina Turns Away Navy 3-1 At Campbell Invitational

Saturday, September 10

Buies Creek, N.C.

1:30 p.m.

East Carolina University

7-0

Navy

7-2

Navy

East Carolina

East Carolina Turns Away Navy 3-1 At Campbell Invitational

September 10, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – A strong defensive performance carried the East Carolina volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-14, 26-24) victory over Navy Saturday afternoon at the Campbell Invitational inside Gore Arena. The Pirates won their seventh consecutive match to start the season, setting a program record in the process.

Team Records: East Carolina: 7-0 | Navy: 7-2

Torbett's Take: "It feels really good to have the school record in hand. Everyone contributed to this victory and I was especially pleased with the play of our back row as Navy is a very good defensive team itself. I'Tiana (Taylor) was phenomenal offensively and Brandee (Markwith) and Alex (Jessett) made some awesome defensive plays. We have earned the opportunity to play for another championship this evening."

ECU put up a strong presence at the net, recording 10 total blocks to the Mids' seven. The Pirates also allowed Navy to hit more than .200 in just one set, ending the match limiting the Mids to an .094 hitting efficiency. East Carolina fired at a .167 clip itself on the strength of 47 kills on 132 attempts. The teams played to a dead heat in the digs column as the Pirates finished with the 55-54 edge.

Senior outside hitter I'Tiana Taylor sparkled in the tussle, picking up a career-high 15 kills while making just two errors in 31 attempts to end up with a .419 hitting percentage. Classmate and setter Sabrina Gonzalez also had an all-around excellent performance, stuffing the stat sheet with eight kills, 38 assists, six digs and a .571 hitting mark. Freshman libero Brandee Markwith led all players with 15 digs and was complemented by a 10-dig outing from junior defensive specialist Alex Jessett while senior middle hitter Ashley McRae tallied six block assists. Dorothy Murray paced Navy with 10 kills and two blocks.

Set One: The Mids got off to a quick start, building leads of 5-2 and 10-5 before the Pirates fought back to knot the score at 12 on a service ace by junior middle hitter Natalie Montini. The teams battled back and forth to a tie at 18 and looked to be headed down the wire. However, a kill by Montini sparked a 5-0 run that essentially put the set away. Navy came as close as 23-20 before a Taylor kill and Maggie Phillips attacking error closed the frame.

Set Two: The Pirates and Mids traded the first two points of the second stanza but Navy was able to pull away early, ringing up a 12-3 lead. The Mids were ahead by as much as 20-9 before settling for the nine-point margin of victory.

Set Three: East Carolina got off on a much better foot in the third, serving tough and building a 7-3 cushion after a Navy attacking error. A huge stuff block by sophomore right side Haley Bidgood and Montini saw the Pirates pull ahead 12-5 and force a Midshipmen timeout. ECU did not let up from there, cruising to a 19-12 edge on a Gonzalez kill before closing it out a few rallies later.

Set Four: The most exciting, back and forth frame was the fourth and final as the teams traded blow to the end. The Mids were able to creep in front 10-6 following an East Carolina attacking error, but the Pirates fired right back with a 6-3 run that brought them within one at 13-12. After a Navy timeout, the Mids looked to send the match to the deciding stanza by taking a 22-18 lead. ECU dug down and rallied, however, scoring four straight to tie the score and force another Navy timeout. The Mids used two kills from Sarena Seelbach to reach set point at 24-22. Once more though, the Pirates gathered their composure and took advantage of a pair of Navy errors to fend off two set points. A big kill from Taylor and an attacking error sealed the comeback for the Pirates as they ended the match on a 4-0 run.

Bits and Pieces: East Carolina officially surpassed the 2003 squad for the most consecutive wins to start a season … The Pirates improved to 4-0 in neutral site matches while Navy dropped to 3-1 … ECU has yet to allow an opponent to reach the .200 mark in hitting percentage in seven matches this campaign … East Carolina took a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series with Navy … With six blocks in the match, McRae needs just 15 more to take over possession of 10th on the program career chart … Head Coach Julie Torbett needs just 16 more wins to reach 400 for her career.

Up Next: The Pirates close out the Campbell Invitational this evening at 5:30 with a matchup against the host Camels.