
ECU Sweeps USC Upstate And Tennessee Tech
September 01, 2018 | Volleyball
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After an uncharacteristic performance Friday night, the ECU volleyball team responded with a pair of 3-0 victories Saturday. The Pirates took care of USC Upstate in the morning before turning aside Tennessee Tech in the afternoon.
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"It was great to see us bounce back today with two wins after a disappointing and surprising loss last night," head coach Julie Torbett said. "We are playing four, sometimes five, freshmen on the floor at one time so we will have some mistakes out there. This team is learning though and they are a fun group to coach."
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ECU 3, USC Upstate 0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-21)
Behind solid serve-receive and defensive efforts, ECU got back on the winning track with a sweep of USC Upstate in Saturday's morning match.
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Junior defensive specialist Maggie Hallow led three Pirates in double figures defensively with 18 digs while sophomore outside hitter Bri Wood and freshman defensive specialist Alden Willis finished with 16 and 10 respectively. Offensively, freshman middle blocker S'mara Riley and freshman outside hitter Natalie Tyson collected 10 kills apiece. Sophomore outside hitter Kalee Vanderhorst was close behind with nine kills and freshman setter Janiece Jefferies tallied 27 assists and seven digs in her first career start.
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The Pirates out-hit the Spartans .192 to .111 while also holding statistical advantages in digs (64-56) and total blocks (6.0-5.0). McKenna Kirkpatrick was the top offensive performer for Upstate with 10 kills and a .304 hitting percentage.
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After the Spartans scored the first point of the match, ECU ripped off five straight to force Upstate into an early timeout. The Spartans would rally and tie the score at eight, but the Pirates scored five of the next six points to establish some breathing room. The advantage grew to 18-11 on an Upstate attacking error and ECU cruised from there – winning the stanza by eight.
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The Spartans raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second frame and later pulled in front 12-9 on a Pirate attacking error. ECU stuck with it, however, and rallied with a 6-3 run that tied the score at 15. The Pirates proved too much in the end, taking a 22-18 edge on another Upstate attacking miscue, and held on for the three-point win and a 2-0 match lead.
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ECU fell behind again in the early stages of set three, but had the answer once more and erased a 7-2 deficit with a 7-1 run capped by a Riley and Jefferies block that put the Pirates ahead by one. The teams traded the lead back and forth until settling for a tie at 17. ECU took over from there, scoring the next four points and never looking behind. A kill by Wood and a Spartan attacking error proved the be the final two plays of the match.
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ECU 3, Tennessee Tech 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-17)
The Pirates faced a much improved Tennessee Tech squad on its home floor in its tournament finale but ECU controlled the match for a majority of the way.
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Tyson led all players on the floor with 12 kills and Hallow collected a match-high 19 digs to go along with Wood's 11. Junior middle blocker Toya Osuegbu notched seven blocks while Tyson added four of her own. Rachel Thomas paced the Golden Eagles with nine kills but she committed nine errors to end up with a .000 hitting percentage.
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ECU limited Tennessee Tech to a .000 hitting mark, forcing 31 errors in the process. The Golden Eagles did out-dig the Pirates 59-56 but ECU recorded nine total blocks to Tennessee Tech's seven.
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Tennessee Tech used a Thomas kill to move in front 5-1 at the outset of the match but a kill by Tyson quickly evened things at six with a kill of her own. It became a game of runs all the way to a tie at 22 before a kill by Vanderhorst sparked a set ending 3-1 run to give the Purple and Gold an early match advantage.
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The Pirates jumped all over the Golden Eagles in the second frame, rolling to a 16-4 lead. Tennessee Tech mustered an unbelievable rally from there, scoring 16 of the next 20 points to forge a 20-20 deadlock. Tyson ended the run with a kill, but the Golden Eagles scored the next three points to pull ahead by two. A pair of kills by Wood helped ECU settle down and net the final four points of the set as a Tyson ace sealed the stanza and afforded the Pirates a 2-0 match lead at the intermission.
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ECU left little doubt in the third, cruising to an 8-1 edge. Tennessee Tech was able to draw within 13-10 later on, but the Pirates extended the lead to 21-15 following a service ace by sophomore setter Shelby Martin. That would prove more than enough margin to work with as a Wood kill finished the job.
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The Pirates wrap up their four-match weekend Sunday afternoon at N.C. Central. First serve in Durham is set for 3 p.m.
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"It was great to see us bounce back today with two wins after a disappointing and surprising loss last night," head coach Julie Torbett said. "We are playing four, sometimes five, freshmen on the floor at one time so we will have some mistakes out there. This team is learning though and they are a fun group to coach."
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ECU 3, USC Upstate 0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-21)
Behind solid serve-receive and defensive efforts, ECU got back on the winning track with a sweep of USC Upstate in Saturday's morning match.
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Junior defensive specialist Maggie Hallow led three Pirates in double figures defensively with 18 digs while sophomore outside hitter Bri Wood and freshman defensive specialist Alden Willis finished with 16 and 10 respectively. Offensively, freshman middle blocker S'mara Riley and freshman outside hitter Natalie Tyson collected 10 kills apiece. Sophomore outside hitter Kalee Vanderhorst was close behind with nine kills and freshman setter Janiece Jefferies tallied 27 assists and seven digs in her first career start.
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The Pirates out-hit the Spartans .192 to .111 while also holding statistical advantages in digs (64-56) and total blocks (6.0-5.0). McKenna Kirkpatrick was the top offensive performer for Upstate with 10 kills and a .304 hitting percentage.
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After the Spartans scored the first point of the match, ECU ripped off five straight to force Upstate into an early timeout. The Spartans would rally and tie the score at eight, but the Pirates scored five of the next six points to establish some breathing room. The advantage grew to 18-11 on an Upstate attacking error and ECU cruised from there – winning the stanza by eight.
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The Spartans raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second frame and later pulled in front 12-9 on a Pirate attacking error. ECU stuck with it, however, and rallied with a 6-3 run that tied the score at 15. The Pirates proved too much in the end, taking a 22-18 edge on another Upstate attacking miscue, and held on for the three-point win and a 2-0 match lead.
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ECU fell behind again in the early stages of set three, but had the answer once more and erased a 7-2 deficit with a 7-1 run capped by a Riley and Jefferies block that put the Pirates ahead by one. The teams traded the lead back and forth until settling for a tie at 17. ECU took over from there, scoring the next four points and never looking behind. A kill by Wood and a Spartan attacking error proved the be the final two plays of the match.
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ECU 3, Tennessee Tech 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-17)
The Pirates faced a much improved Tennessee Tech squad on its home floor in its tournament finale but ECU controlled the match for a majority of the way.
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Tyson led all players on the floor with 12 kills and Hallow collected a match-high 19 digs to go along with Wood's 11. Junior middle blocker Toya Osuegbu notched seven blocks while Tyson added four of her own. Rachel Thomas paced the Golden Eagles with nine kills but she committed nine errors to end up with a .000 hitting percentage.
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ECU limited Tennessee Tech to a .000 hitting mark, forcing 31 errors in the process. The Golden Eagles did out-dig the Pirates 59-56 but ECU recorded nine total blocks to Tennessee Tech's seven.
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Tennessee Tech used a Thomas kill to move in front 5-1 at the outset of the match but a kill by Tyson quickly evened things at six with a kill of her own. It became a game of runs all the way to a tie at 22 before a kill by Vanderhorst sparked a set ending 3-1 run to give the Purple and Gold an early match advantage.
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The Pirates jumped all over the Golden Eagles in the second frame, rolling to a 16-4 lead. Tennessee Tech mustered an unbelievable rally from there, scoring 16 of the next 20 points to forge a 20-20 deadlock. Tyson ended the run with a kill, but the Golden Eagles scored the next three points to pull ahead by two. A pair of kills by Wood helped ECU settle down and net the final four points of the set as a Tyson ace sealed the stanza and afforded the Pirates a 2-0 match lead at the intermission.
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ECU left little doubt in the third, cruising to an 8-1 edge. Tennessee Tech was able to draw within 13-10 later on, but the Pirates extended the lead to 21-15 following a service ace by sophomore setter Shelby Martin. That would prove more than enough margin to work with as a Wood kill finished the job.
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The Pirates wrap up their four-match weekend Sunday afternoon at N.C. Central. First serve in Durham is set for 3 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
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Sunday, October 20
ECU Volleyball vs Campbell
Thursday, August 31
ECU Volleyball vs UCF
Sunday, November 07
ECU Volleyball vs USF
Friday, November 05