NC State Downs East Carolina In Three

Saturday, September 4

Raleigh, N.C.

Noon

East Carolina University

0-2,0-0AAC

NC State

2-3,0-0ACC

East Carolina

NC State

September 04, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

RALEIGH, N.C. – A young and depleted East Carolina side dropped a three-set non-conference match to NC State Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.

The Pirates, down all three of their regular setters, had freshman defensive specialist Anaiah Jones handle the duties, while freshman outside hitter Merritt Woodson and freshman libero Tia Shum also made their collegiate debuts.

Melissa Evans tallied 14 kills to lead the Wolfpack offensively, while Hannah Wander picked up a team-best 11 digs. Senior outside hitter Natalie Tyson and freshman middle blocker Amelia Davis collected three kills each with Shum finished the match with a squad-high eight digs.

NC State hit .245 with 44 kills on 98 attempts while holding ECU to a negative percentage (-.125). The Wolfpack also held an advantage in digs (40-26) as well as a slight edge from the service line (5-4). The teams combined for 11 total blocks as Davis tied for the match high with three of her own.

The young Pirates got off to a great start in set one, building a 15-12 advantage on the back of a pair of aces by Tyson and Woodson, but the home team put together a run late and ended up with the early match lead by a 25-18 margin.

NC State jumped out early in the second frame, establishing a 9-4 lead. ECU made a little bit of a run in the middle portion of the stanza after a Jones ace made the score 13-8. However, the Wolfpack scored seven of the next eight points to pull away.

East Carolina was unable to find its footing in the third set, falling behind 9-3. The Pirates cut their deficit to single digits later in the proceedings before Jada Allen ended the match with a kill.

Up Next: East Carolina closes out the weekend later Saturday night at 7 p.m. with a match at North Carolina.