Pirates Falter In 3-1 Setback To Florida Atlantic

Saturday, September 30

Greenville, N.C.

Noon

East Carolina University

12-4,3-2AAC

Florida Atlantic

10-8,2-3AAC

Fla. Atlantic

East Carolina

September 30, 2023 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina had no answer for Florida Atlantic's duo of Arianna Beckham and Valeria Rosado Saturday afternoon as the pair combined for 43 kills to lift the Owls past the Pirates 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 25-19, 26-24) inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

ECU (12-4, 3-2 AAC) ended up out-hitting FAU (10-8, 2-3 AAC) .293 to .265, but the Owls ended up with the advantage in kills (62-55) and digs (56-43) while the Pirates racked up 10.5 total blocks to the visitors' three.

Beckham was the story of the afternoon, registering a .613 hitting percentage and finishing with a team-high 22.5 points. Angeles Alderete led East Carolina with a double-double of 14 kills and 14 digs.

Set One: A kill by Beckham gave Florida Atlantic a 12-8 lead in the opener, prompting ECU to call its first timeout. The Owls were able to pull away with some strong serving as the Pirates could not get in system and allowed FAU to win the frame by six.

Set Two: East Carolina settled down in the second, racing out to an 8-3 advantage it would not relinquish. A Beckham attacking error made the score 14-6 and the Pirates led by as much as nine before closing out the stanza by eight.

Set Three: ECU suffered its worst hitting percentage of any frame in the third, firing at just .081. The Owls took advantage and never let the Pirates into contention as a Kaila Ru kill terminated the set and afforded Florida Atlantic a 2-1 match lead.

Set Four: The fourth turned out to be an all-out tussle with a solo block by Payton Evenstad putting East Carolina on top 15-14 at the media timeout. With the score later knotted up at 20, a Beckham kill and Alderete attacking error pushed the Owls in front 22-20. Alderete responded with a kill to tie things at 23 but Romina Cornelio and Beckham ended the contest with two-straight scores of their own.

Up Next: ECU continues its homestand Friday, Oct. 6, against Tulane. First serve is set for 6 p.m.