ECU Flummoxes Florida Atlantic In 3-0 Sweep

Friday, October 25

Greenville, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

14-6,7-3AAC

Florida Atlantic

12-9,4-5AAC

Fla. Atlantic

East Carolina

October 25, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – In perhaps its most consistent performance of the campaign, East Carolina disposed of Florida Atlantic 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-20) in an American Athletic Conference match Friday night inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

ECU, playing its fourth match in the span of just one week, swept the season series from FAU after capturing a four-set win back on Sept. 27 at Baldwin Arena.

The Owls (12-9, 4-5 AAC) arrived in Greenville with a ton of momentum after sweeping second-place Rice and knocking off league leader South Florida last weekend in Boca Raton, but the Pirates (14-6, 7-3 AAC) imposed their will from the start in extending their winning streak to four and remaining unbeaten (8-0) at Minges Coliseum.

ECU really excelled in the serve-receive battle as Florida Atlantic was unable to register an ace and was put out of system a majority of the evening by some tough Pirate serving. The Owls ended up committing 30 attacking errors in 137 attempts for a paltry .029 hitting percentage while East Carolina recorded just eight miscues in 105 swings to finish with .219 efficiency. The Pirates also claimed the upper hand in digs (65-60) while racking up an insane 16.0 total blocks (5.33 per set).

Both teams relied on their offensive identity of spreading the ball around as no player in the contest reached double figures in the kill column. Angeles Alderete and Fran McBride paced the Purple and Gold with seven apiece while Kaila Ru, Katelynn Robine and Valeria Rosado all collected eight for the visitors. Lara Uyar led ECU defensively with 18 digs and Carlia Northcross, who did not suit up in Wednesday's victory at Charlotte, piled up 10 total blocks (three solo).

East Carolina scored the first three points of the evening and did not relent, forcing Florida Atlantic to call both timeouts trailing 10-6 and 15-8. Robine mustered a kill later in the set to slice the Owl deficit to 21-16 but it wasn't nearly enough as the Pirates cruised to the six-point win and an early match advantage.

FAU struggled immensely in the second stanza offensively, firing in the negative at -.122 and allowing ECU to notch five total blocks. The Pirates raced out to 8-1 and 11-3 leads, nearly holding the Owls to single digits before settling for a 13-point victory.

Florida Atlantic showed some life in the third, picking up the tempo and running out to a 12-6 edge. East Carolina dug down though as Izzy Marinelli unleashed a 10-0 service run that turned a 13-8 deficit into a 17-13 lead. The Pirates never trailed again, and Northcross produced a fitting end to the rout with a solo rejection of Ru.

Up Next: ECU heads back on the road next Friday (Nov. 1) when it travels to Memphis for an American Conference encounter with the Tigers. First serve inside the Larry O. Finch Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.