ECU Sweeps South Carolina State To Open Georgia State Invitational

Saturday, September 17

Atlanta, Ga.

11:00 a.m.

East Carolina University

9-0

South Carolina State

0-14

South Carolina St.

East Carolina

ECU Sweeps South Carolina State To Open Georgia State Invitational

September 17, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

ATLANTA, Ga. – The East Carolina volleyball team kept rolling Saturday morning, recording a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-14) victory over South Carolina State in the second match of the Georgia State Invitational at the GSU Sports Arena in downtown Atlanta. With its second sweep of the Bulldogs this season, the Pirates now own not only the best start in school history but also the longest overall winning streak.

Team Records: East Carolina: 9-0 | South Carolina State: 0-14

Torbett's Take: "This was another good win for us. Natalie (Montini) and Sydney (Darden) carried the load offensively while Lael (Ceriani) came in for the third set and was a good presence. I challenged our team at the intermission to clean up some things and they responded very well."

Montini led all players with 11 kills, a .438 hitting percentage and four total blocks while Darden chipped in with five kills and fired at a .417 clip. Senior setter Sabrina Gonzalez notched her fifth double-double of season to the tune of 28 assists and 10 digs. Briana Dafney paced South Carolina State with five kills but was limited to a -.038 hitting mark.

Collectively, ECU recovered from a poor offensive performance in the second set and hit .462 in the final frame to end up with a .225 percentage. Conversely, the Bulldogs struggled to keep the ball in bounds and hit -.081 only mustering 16 kills while committing 22 attacking errors. The Pirates also held the upper hand in digs (31-21) and total blocks (5.0-3.0).

Set One: A pair of attacking errors put East Carolina behind the 8-ball to begin the match, but the Pirates would net 10 of the next 13 points to pull out to a 10-5 advantage and force SCSU to take a timeout. A service ace by junior defensive specialist Alex Jessett extended the ECU cushion to 14-7 and the Bulldogs would not recover. South Carolina State took a timeout down 21-12 before the Purple and Gold sealed the set by 11 thanks to a Bulldog attacking error.

Set Two: East Carolina found itself down 8-0 to begin the second frame before a kill by senior outside hitter I'Tiana Taylor broke up the SCSU run. The Pirates dug down and were able to eventually knot the score at 10 following a Bulldog offensive miscue. The teams passed the lead back forth as the stanza progressed but, with things tied at 14, ECU scored six-straight points to put the set away and take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Set Three: The Pirates attempted to put the Bulldogs away quickly in the third frame, capturing the first four rallies of the set before South Carolina State answered with two straight. The Bulldogs called for time later in the stanza trailing 16-7 but it was far too late for them to make a comeback as East Carolina cruised to the 11-point margin of victory that clinched the match.

Bits and Pieces: ECU improved to 5-0 in neutral site matches … The Pirates took a 3-1 lead in the series with South Carolina State … Head Coach Julie Torbett needs just 13 more victories to reach 400 for her career … Entering the day, East Carolina was one of just five NCAA Division I teams without a loss … ECU improved to 35-14 in nonconference matches under Torbett … In every match this campaign, East Carolina has recorded more kills, digs and blocks than its opponent while hitting for a higher percentage as well.

Up Next: The Pirates play their final nonconference match of the season later Saturday, taking on host Georgia State at 4 p.m.