Volleyball Puts Away Georgia State In Three

Saturday, August 26

Greenville, N.C.

10:00 a.m.

East Carolina University

2-0

Georgia State

1-1

Georgia State

ECU

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

August 26, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The ECU volleyball team recorded its second-straight sweep to start the season Saturday morning, taking care of Georgia State by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 27-25 in match three of the ECU Invitational from Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

Sophomore middle hitter Toya Osuegbu tallied a career-high nine kills on 15 attempts with only two errors to end up with a .467 hitting percentage while senior outside hitter Lael Ceriani posted a match-best 12 kills and a .346 hitting mark. Freshman right side Bri Wood added nine kills of her own and senior middle Natalie Montini chipped in with four total blocks. Defensively for the Purple and Gold, sophomore libero Brandee Markwith collected 18 digs. Freshman setter Shelby Martin also had a nice performance to the tune of 36 assists, seven digs and three kills. Morgan Hash paced the Panthers with nine kills.

ECU put together another solid offensive performance, netting 43 kills on 104 attempts with 12 errors for a .298 hitting percentage. The Pirates also notched 57 digs, six blocks and six service aces. As for Georgia State, the Panthers hit .148 and finished with 45 digs as well as eight aces.

Team Records: ECU (2-0) | Georgia State (1-1)

Torbett's Take: "I like the demeanor of this team so far through two matches. It is a very even keel group that really supports one another. We have a number of nice offensive weapons to choose from and don't have to rely on just one hitter. Georgia State is a scrappy team that swings with a lot of power so that was a good win for us."

Set 1: The teams battled to a deadlock at eight points apiece before Ceriani went on a nice serving run and helped propel ECU to a 16-9 advantage. The Panthers responded with a 9-2 run that knotted the score at 18, but the Pirates scored seven of the last eight points to put the set away.

Set 2: The second stanza was similar to the first as the squads settled for a 13-13 tie. Wood tallied two kills over the next five rallies that saw ECU pull in front 18-13 and force Georgia State into a timeout. A big kill by Montini later on made the score 22-16 and the Purple and Gold would go on to capture the stanza by eight points.

Set 3: The Pirates suffered from a slow start to the final set, but forged a deadlock at nine following two-straight Ceriani kills. The Panthers called timeout after an ECU block put the home team into a 17-15 lead, but the visitors eventually tied the score at 21. Osuegbu and Wood recorded consecutive kills to put the Pirates on the brink at 23-21. Georgia State rallied one last time with two-straight scores. However, ECU had the last word and eventually sealed the sweep in extra points.

News and Notes

ECU improved to 3-1 in the series with Georgia State.
Head coach Julie Torbett needs just five more wins to reach 400 for her career and 15 to become the winningest head coach in program history.
The Pirates won their 13th-straight non-conference match and raised their record to 38-14 in non-league affairs since 2013.
ECU improved to 14-2 in its last 16 matches when winning the first set.

Up Next: The Pirates will take on Rutgers at 7 p.m. in the finale of the ECU Invitational. Admission is free of charge for all fans.