ECU Overpowers Tulane In Straight Set AAC Victory

Friday, October 6

Greenville, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

13-4,4-2AAC

Tulane

4-13,0-5AAC

Tulane

East Carolina

October 06, 2023 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina made quick work of Tulane Friday night, notching its 10th sweep of the campaign (25-19, 25-22, 25-12) in an American Athletic Conference volleyball contest inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The Pirates (13-4, 4-2 AAC) surpassed their win total of a season ago and collected their first three-set victory in the series with Tulane since Nov. 9, 2014, in Greenville. Meanwhile, the Green Wave (4-13, 0-5 AAC) remained winless in league play.

Sophomore outside hitter Angeles Alderete tallied a team-best 12 kills and hit .370 while adding seven digs, two aces and two blocks. Freshman middle blocker Farah Farooq also put in a nice outing, firing at a .636 offensive clip with seven kills to go along with four blocks. Additionally, junior setter Payton Evenstad registered a double-double of 13 assists and 10 digs. Avery Burks paced the Green Wave, as well as all players, with 15 kills.

ECU ran an efficient offense, racking up 37 kills and committing just nine errors on 94 attempts to hit .298 for the evening. Things did not go quite as smoothly for the visitors as the Pirates forced Tulane into 26 attacking miscues on 108 swings for a paltry .074 hitting percentage. East Carolina's block had a little bit to do with that number, piling up 11.0 total stuffs. The Pirates also held advantages in service aces (3-2) and total digs (45-41).

Set One: The Green Wave came out swinging, taking a 13-8 lead on a kill by Ilayda Demirtas to prompt an ECU timeout. The Pirates steadied themselves and slowly chipped away at the deficit, eventually knotting the score at 15 on a Fran McBride kill. With things tied up at 16 just two rallies later, consecutive scores by Alderete and Farooq put the Purple and Gold up by a pair. Tulane never really threatened again as it drew no closer than two the rest of the way.

Set Two: Another quick start saw the Green Wave push ahead 12-9 in the second, but a kill by Alderete and two-straight Tulane attacking errors quickly forged a 12-12 deadlock. The sides traded the lead back and forth before settling for a tie at 22 points apiece. ECU took it from there, ending the set on a 3-0 run to grab a 2-0 advantage at the intermission.

Set Three: East Carolina put any Green Wave glimmer of hope for a comeback to bed early in the third, revving up the offensive attack and building a 9-2 cushion following an Aulie Huff kill. The Pirates ended up hitting a sizzling .500 in the frame and led by as much as 13 points before a Sabrina Skyers swing went into the net and sealed the ECU sweep.

Up Next: The Purple and Gold welcome league newcomer North Texas to Minges Coliseum for a Sunday (Oct. 8) matinee. First serve is slated for Noon and the match will stream live via ESPN+.