Volleyball Boots Bucknell In Three To End Hatter Classic

Saturday, September 2

DeLand, Fla.

4:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

4-2

Bucknell

3-2

Bucknell

ECU

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

Volleyball Boots Bucknell In Three To End Hatter Classic

September 02, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DELAND, Fla. – The ECU volleyball team made quick work of Bucknell Saturday afternoon, sweeping the Bison 25-19, 25-19, 25-13 in emphatic fashion in its third and final match of the Hatter Classic at the Edmunds Center. The Pirates finished the tournament with a 2-1 record after defeating host Stetson 3-1 Friday night.

ECU dominated the stat sheet for the most part, tallying more kills (41-24), digs (46-40), assists (38-23) and aces (2-0). Bucknell was able to gain the upper hand in the blocking column, posting 10 total blocks to the Pirates' seven.

The Bison had little answer for freshman right side Bri Wood who put down a match-best 13 kills and committed just two attacking errors to finish with a .611 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Lael Ceriani also reached double figures with 11 kills to go along with eight digs and three blocks. Defensively, sophomore libero Brandee Markwith racked up 20 digs in the three sets.

Team Records: ECU (4-2) | Bucknell (3-2)

Torbett's Take: "We executed our game plan really well today and played at a high level. I was also pleased with our energy throughout the match. If we can play consistently like that going forward, we will find a lot of success down the road."

Set One: A kill by Wood gave the Purple and Gold an early 7-4 before the Bison rallied to knot the score at seven. With things later tied at 13, a Bucknell serving error sparked a 6-2 run that put the Pirates in front 19-15. That would be enough for ECU who cruised to the six-point margin of victory.

Set Two: It was all Pirates early in the frame as the Bison burned both of their timeouts in the first 10 points with ECU ahead 8-2. Bucknell was able to rally within 20-18 later in the stanza, but the Pirates snatched away five of the last six points to build a 2-0 match lead.

Set Three: The final set was close early on after a Sophie Bullard kill pulled the Bison within 8-7. However, ECU took over from there are blitzed Bucknell with a 10-2 run that put the match away. A pair of attacking errors proved the final plays of the day as the Pirates claimed the clinching set by a whopping 12 points.

News and Notes

ECU defeated Bucknell for the second-straight season. The Pirates downed the Bison 3-1 on their home floor in the third match of the 2016 campaign.
Head coach Julie Torbett earned her 397th career victory.
ECU picked up its third sweep of an opponent in 2017.
Ceriani and Wood were named to the Hatter Classic All-Tournament Team following the match.

Up Next: The Pirates return home this weekend (Sept. 8-9) to host the ECU Classic. Hampton, Gardner-Webb, The Citadel and Winthrop, along with ECU, comprise the five-team tournament field.