East Carolina Runs Winning Streak To Six With Sweep At UAB

Sunday, November 3

Birmingham, Ala.

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

16-6,9-3AAC

UAB

9-14,4-8AAC

East Carolina

UAB

East Carolina Runs Winning Streak To Six With Sweep At UAB

November 03, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Playing in her home state, sophomore outside Ellie Pate posted a match-best 12 kills to help lead East Carolina to a 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-21) American Athletic Conference victory over UAB Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena.

The Pirates (16-6, 9-3 AAC) captured their sixth-straight win to maintain their hold on third place in the league standings with four matches remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Blazers (9-14, 4-8 AAC) slipped to 10th place – one game behind Memphis and North Texas for the final bid to the AAC Volleyball Championship.

Pate, a native of Auburn, Ala., was the lone ECU player to finish with double-digit kills but Angeles Alderete also turned in a nice effort of nine kills and 13 digs to go along with Lara Uyar's 16-dig performance. Izzy Marinelli also shined through in the contest, logging six kills, six blocks and a .750 hitting percentage. Jorda Crook and Abby Jones paced UAB with 11 and 10 kills respectively.

After limiting the Blazers to negative hitting efficiency in the opening set, East Carolina finished the day with a .231 to .113 advantage in hitting percentage while also racking up 10.0 total blocks and a pair of service aces.

The Pirates exerted their dominance in the first stanza, racing out to a 16-9 lead after a block by Marinelli and Pate. UAB utilized a timeout trailing 18-11 a few rallies later but was unable to draw much closer the rest of the way.

Flipping the script in the second frame, the Blazers served tough and put ECU out of system in building a 14-9 edge. After cleaning some things up, the Pirates drew within 17-16 via a UAB attacking error though they eventually fell behind 24-22 when Crook scored to put the home side at set point. Fran McBride kept East Carolina alive with a kill, prompting a Blazer timeout, before a subsequent block by Marinelli and Aulie Huff knotted things up and set up a race to the finish. Pate took care of the rest, notching consecutive kills to send the Purple and Gold to the intermission with a two sets to none cushion.

The sides traded runs in the third to settle for a 12-12 deadlock, but the Pirates would not be denied. Marinelli registered a kill to spark a 9-5 ECU run that essentially put the match away as UAB drew no closer than two in the remainder of the contest.

Up Next: East Carolina welcomes Tulsa to Greenville Friday, Nov. 8, to begin a three-match homestand. First serve inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum is scheduled for 6 p.m.