East Carolina Sweeps North Carolina A&T In Greensboro

Tuesday, September 6

Greensboro, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

5-0

North Carolina A&T

1-5

East Carolina

North Carolina A&T

Photo by: North Carolina A&T

September 06, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Box Score (PDF)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – After winning two close sets to begin Tuesday evening's match, the East Carolina volleyball team pulled away in the third frame and posted a 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-18) road victory over North Carolina A&T inside Moore Gymnasium.

Team Records: East Carolina: 5-0 | North Carolina A&T: 1-5

Torbett's Take: "I thought we had some players step up at key times tonight when the sets were close. Lael (Ceriani) had a great performance offensively and Brandee (Markwith) took control in the back row. North Carolina A&T is a much improved team and we are glad to win another match on the road."

Junior outside hitter Lael Ceriani posted a team-high 11 kills and five blocks while also hitting a stout .625 with one error in 16 attempts. Freshman libero Brandee Markwith recorded 16 digs as the only player in the match to reach double figures defensively. For the Aggies, Samara Brown notched 16 kills on an astounding 44 swings at the ball.

Hitting percentage has been a strength of the Pirates early in the season and it continued tonight as East Carolina fired at a .271 clip while limiting A&T to .187 efficiency. The Pirates also produced 48 digs, six service aces and seven total blocks.

Set One: The opening stanza was a battle all the way. Back to back kills by Taylor afforded ECU an early 6-4 lead but a service ace by Christa Wilson knotted the score at 10 apiece. The Pirates looked to pull away late, taking a 19-16 advantage. However, a service error and two kills by Brown evened things once more at 20. Senior middle hitter Ashley McRae recorded a kill on the next rally to put East Carolina in front and force an Aggie timeout. The home team responded and notched four-straight points to give itself three set points leading 24-21. The Pirates dug down, however, and scored four straight themselves to take a 25-24 edge The teams traded the lead before settling for a 26-26 deadlock and consecutive kills by junior outside Ashton Mares and McRae completed the ECU comeback.

Set Two: A pair of service aces and a kill by Mares opened the second frame, giving East Carolina an early 3-0 cushion. ECU was able to hold A&T at bay throughout most of the set and opened up a 14-10 lead after junior middle Natalie Montini put down an ace. With the Pirates up 23-20 and looking to head into the intermission up two sets, the Aggies made one last push. Down 24-21, A&T netted two straight to pull within one, but an attacking error gave ECU the win.

Set Three: With the score tied at nine, senior outside I'Tiana Taylor put a kill down to spark a 7-2 run that forced the Aggies into a timeout. East Carolina extended the lead to 20-12 before eventually closing out the match by the seven-point margin.

Bits and Pieces: ECU improved to 3-0 in true road matches while North Carolina A&T dropped to 0-2 at home … The Pirates are 5-0 for the second time in three seasons … East Carolina upped its advantage to 15-4 in the series with the Aggies and have now won six straight over A&T … Head coach Julie Torbett needs just 17 victories to reach 400 for her career … ECU and USF are the remaining two American Athletic Conference teams that have not suffered a loss in 2016 … Four of the Pirates' five victories have come via the sweep … East Carolina has hit .258 or better in all of its matches while its opponents have yet to reach .200 themselves.

Up Next: East Carolina returns to tournament play this weekend, heading to Buies Creek for the Campbell Invitational. The Pirates open the event Friday at 4:30 p.m. against South Carolina State.