ECU Falls In Three At Cincinnati In Season Finale

Wednesday, November 21

Cincinnati, Ohio

Noon

East Carolina University

13-16, 5-13

Cincinnati

25-7, 15-3

ECU

Cincinnati

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

November 21, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

CINCINNATI, Ohio. – ECU ended the 2018 season Wednesday afternoon with a 3-0 (20-25, 23-25, 14-25) setback at Cincinnati inside Fifth-Third Arena.

The Pirates end the campaign at 13-16 overall and 5-13 in American Athletic Conference play. The Bearcats, a likely at-large selection to this year's NCAA Tournament, finish the regular season at 25-7 and 15-3 as the runner-up to league champion UCF.

Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Kleinman led the squad with nine kills and four service aces while sophomore setter Shelby Martin ended her season with 22 assists and four digs. Junior libero Maggie Hallow collected three digs and recorded 429 this year – the 10th most in a single season in school history. Martin stands at 1,920 assists heading into 2019 and is ninth on the ECU career list.

Jordan Thompson, the nation's leader in kills and kills per set, lived up the billing with 21 kills and carried nearly all of the offensive load for the home side as the next Bearcat had just seven kills.

Cincinnati out-hit the Pirates .378 to .189 and had more digs (40-27). The Bearcats racked up nine service aces to offset 10 missed serves while ECU notched seven total blocks to Cincy's four.

Cincinnati took the upper hand early in the opener and led 9-5 after a Thompson kill. The Purple and Gold rallied within 11-10 after an Osuegbu kill, but two-straight Bearcat points gave the hosts some more breathing room and prompted a Pirate timeout. ECU kept pace for much of the set, but consecutive Pirate attacking errors late put Cincinnati in front 22-18. The hosts eventually closed it out by five following a Maria Mallon kill.

The Bearcats were ahead early in the second stanza as well, leading 9-5. ECU cut its deficit to 13-11 after a Tyson kill, but a Thompson kill and Mallon ace extended the advantage back to four. With Cincinnati leading 21-17, three-straight aces by Kleinman made it a one-point frame and the Bearcats called their first timeout of the match. A kill by Osuegbu afford the Pirates a 23-22 edge. However, a kill and an ace put Cincinnati at set point. Thompson then finished it off with a kill and the Bearcats captured a two-set match lead at the intermission.

Like the previous two sets, the third had Cincinnati ahead early but just by a few points. The Bearcats established a cushion in the middle portion after an ace made the score 16-11. ECU did not threaten again as Cincinnati sealed the sweep.

As it stands now, the Pirates return their entire starting lineup in 2019 and lose just one player from the 2018 roster.