East Carolina Rumbles Past UTSA, 3-0

Friday, October 4

Greenville, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

9-4,2-1AAC

UTSA

6-10,0-3AAC

UTSA

East Carolina

October 04, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina returned to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for the first time in nearly a month Friday night, dispatching American Athletic Conference foe UTSA in three sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-21).

The Pirates (9-4, 2-1 AAC) spread the ball around nicely as four ECU hitters registered at least eight kills in the contest to help the Purple and Gold out-hit the Roadrunners (6-10, 0-3 AAC) .254 to .137. East Carolina also out-dug UTSA 65-64 and held the upper hand in total blocks (6.0-5.0).

Fran McBride collected a match-high 11 kills and did not commit an error in 28 attempts to finish with a .393 hitting percentage. She also added five digs and two blocks to her ledger. Angeles Alderete fell just short of a double-double, filling up the stat sheet to the tune of nine kills, 17 digs and two blocks while Aulie Huff and Ellie Pate both contributed eight kills apiece. Ally Tribe paced the Roadrunners with nine kills.

Set One: A nice run by Kenzie Beckham at the service line put UTSA out of system on multiple occasions in the early points, allowing ECU to establish an 11-5 advantage. Huff later put down a kill to make it 19-12 and prompt a Roadrunner timeout, and the Pirates held UTSA at an arm's length the rest of the way to take the opener by six.

Set Two: East Carolina put together a consistent offensive performance in the second stanza, racking up 18 kills and a .295 hitting percentage. The Pirates fell behind by two on a couple of early occasions and trailed 10-7 following a Caroline Tredwell kill, but ECU began to chip away and eventually found itself in the lead at 12-11 via a kill by Huff. The Roadrunners rallied to grab a 19-17 advantage late in the set. However, a 5-1 Pirate run proved the difference as East Carolina built a 22-20 cushion and UTSA did not threaten again.

Set Three: Despite falling behind 3-0 in the third frame, the Roadrunners scored five straight to vault in front. The teams traded the lead for a while until a UTSA attacking error saw the Pirates push ahead 14-9. The Roadrunners rattled off five in a row to knot the score but a kill by Alderete broke the deadlock and sent ECU into the media timeout with a one-point edge. Things settled at a 17-17 deadlock a few rallies later and a Ekwe Anwah kill sparked a 4-0 Pirate run to put the hosts on the front foot for good. UTSA was able to cut its deficit down to 22-20, though ECU claimed three of the final four points to terminate the contest.

East Carolina improved to 4-0 at home in 2024 and has not dropped a set in any of those matches.
The Pirates recorded their fifth sweep of the campaign.
ECU is now 2-1 against UTSA in the all-time series and has captured both meetings as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
The Pirates remained the league leader in opponent hitting percentage, exiting the match allowing just .165 efficiency in 13 outings.
Alderete is now 15 kills away from registering 1,000 for her career.

Up Next: East Carolina welcomes in North Texas to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Sunday at 1 p.m.