East Carolina Falls At Tulsa, 3-1

Sunday, September 29

Tulsa, Okla.

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

12-3, 0-2

Tulsa

9-6, 2-0

East Carolina

Tulsa

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

September 29, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

TULSA, Okla. – East Carolina wrapped up its first weekend of American Athletic Conference play Sunday afternoon with a four-set (26-28, 26-24, 17-25, 15-25) loss at Tulsa.

The Pirates dropped to 12-3 overall and 0-2 in league matches while the Golden Hurricane improved to 9-6 and 2-0.

Junior right side Bri Wood led the way on offense with nine kills and posted 11 digs, just missing a double-double. Junior setter Shelby Martin did complete a double-double, racking up 18 assists and 12 digs including nine in the first set. Dilara Gedikoglu paced Tulsa with 18 kills and 10 digs.

Both teams hit under .200, combining for 50 attacking errors. The Golden Hurricane fired at a .195 as compared to the Pirates' .101 mark. Tulsa also out-dug ECU 77-65 and held the edge in total blocks (11.0 to 9.0).

Neither team could create much separation in the opening set, but East Carolina eventually pulled ahead 15-12 following a kill by Sydney Hall. Tulsa responded right back however, scoring three straight to even the score. A Golden Hurricane attacking error put ECU in front 21-19 late, however, Tulsa rallied to reach set point with a 24-22 edge. The Pirates fought off both set points and took a 25-24 lead on a bad set but could not finish the job as the Golden Hurricane used a kill and a block to escape with the stanza.

Tulsa jumped out to a 4-1 lead before East Carolina pulled with 10-9. The Pirates used a timeout trailing 14-10 but could not cut into the deficit as the Golden Hurricane stayed on the front edge 16-12. ECU drew within two at 21-19, but a service error made it a three-point difference once more. With the Pirates facing set point, 24-19, freshman Chloe Wilmoth unleashed an unreal serving run, allowing East Carolina to rip off a 7-0 run to win the frame in extra points and tie the match at the intermission.

Tulsa grabbed the momentum in the third stanza, scoring the first six points before later forcing a Pirate timeout with the score 11-6. The Golden Hurricane kept ECU at an arm's length the rest of the set to take the match's upper hand.

The Pirates fell behind early in the fourth and used a timeout down 13-8. East Carolina could not catch up the rest of the way as Tulsa sealed the win.

ECU returns home Friday, Oct. 4, when it plays host to USF at 7 p.m.