ECU Falls To Georgia Southern In NIVC Second Round

Saturday, December 2

Greenville, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

21-11,11-8AAC

Georgia Southern

23-8,10-6Sun Belt

Ga. Southern

East Carolina

December 02, 2023 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jillian Gray posted a team-high 15 kills to lead Georgia Southern past East Carolina 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Saturday evening from Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The Pirates end a highly successful campaign at 21-11 while the Eagles improve to 23-8 in advance of a date with South Florida in the quarterfinals.

Angeles Alderete paced ECU with a double-double of 10 kills and 12 digs while Tia Shum collected 15 digs of her own. Georgia Southern racked up more kills (41-36), digs (57-53) and total blocks (10.0-8.0) and limited East Carolina to a .112 hitting percentage.

Early deficits would mark the theme of the evening for the Pirates as they fell behind 12-7 in the opening frame. They were able to draw within 22-19 later in the proceedings but scored just one point the rest of the set.

Down by as much as eight at 17-9 in the second stanza, ECU would rally all the way back to take a 21-20 advantage. Attacking errors short-circuited the comeback though as the visitors ended the set on a 5-1 run.

In an attempt to extend the match, the Pirates fought the Eagles all the way to a 20-20 deadlock before Carlia Northcross put the Purple and Gold in front with a kill. As in the second frame, Georgia Southern scored five of the last six points to complete the sweep.