East Carolina Stuffs Tulsa In Four Sets

Sunday, November 6

Greenville, N.C.

Noon

East Carolina University

9-17,4-10AAC

Tulsa

11-14,4-9AAC

Tulsa

East Carolina

November 06, 2022 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina snapped a seven-match losing streak Sunday afternoon, defeating Tulsa 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 25-15) in an American Athletic Conference contest inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The Pirates (9-17, 4-10 AAC) notched just their third-ever victory over the Golden Hurricane (11-14, 4-9 AAC) and first since 2017. ECU also matched its overall win total from last season with six outings remaining in the campaign.

Angeles Alderete produced her eighth 20-kill effort of the season and third in the last four games with a match-high 22, adding 11 digs for her team-best 13th double-double while also hitting .362. She now has 402 kills for the year, putting her ninth on the program's single-season top-10 list. Izzy Marinelli notched 14 kills of her own and finished with a .250 hitting percentage. Payton Evenstad enjoyed a solid performance as well, twirling a double-double of 23 assists and 13 digs. Defensively, Kenzie Beckham posted 19 digs while Carlia Northcross racked up six blocks.

Kayley Cassaday, the nation's leader in attempts, recorded 15 kills on 61 swings with 10 errors to end up with a .082 hitting percentage for Tulsa.

East Carolina limited its miscues on the offensive end, piling up 57 kills on 128 attempts with 16 errors for a .320 hitting percentage. The Golden Hurricane fired at a .156 clip, committing 22 errors. Tulsa entered the day as the nation's top squad in digs per set, but the Pirates were the far better team in the statistic, out-digging the Golden Hurricane 69-50. ECU also held a sizable advantage in total blocks by an 11.0 to 2.0 margin.

The Pirates got off to a bright start, leading 12-3 after a Julianna Askew ace. Tulsa fought back to draw within 19-14, but East Carolina scored four of the next five points to pull away. The second set was much of the same as ECU used an 8-3 run to end the stanza and take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

After the Golden Hurricane rallied for a set-three victory, the Pirates got off to a 9-6 lead in the fourth thanks to a kill by Alyssa Finister. With the score still tight at 11-9, East Carolina rattled off eight of the next nine points to establish an insurmountable advantage. ECU would score the final three points of the afternoon to seal the victory.

Up Next: It's back to the road for East Carolina next weekend when the Pirates visit SMU and Memphis.