
Pirates Fall In Four Sets At Charlotte
October 01, 2025 | Volleyball
Charlotte, N.C. – Ellie Pate had a match-high 18 kills but East Carolina fell to Charlotte in four sets (21-25, 25-19, 22-25, 14-25) at Dale F. Halton Arena on Wednesday evening.
Sydney Buchanan added nine kills for the Pirates (8-6, 0-3 American) who dropped their fifth straight match.
Jessica Ricks led Charlotte (11-4, 2-1 American) with 16 kills.
The Pirates wasted little time at the start of the first set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead behind a 7-0 scoring run that included four kills from Pate to force an early timeout from Charlotte. The Niners responded with a 5-1 spurt to pull within two points but the Pirates continued to fend off the Niners until a kill from Jaylen Jordan tied the match at 17-17.Â
ECU scored three unanswered to go ahead 20-17 but Charlotte responded again with a 3-0 run of their own that forced East Carolina to use their final timeout of the set. Charlotte's run continued on back-to-back kills from Jordan and the Pirates were unable to stop the momentum as the Niners ended the set on an 8-1 run.
In the second set, East Carolina did not allow a Charlotte comeback as the Pirates finished the set strong by closing out the set scoring three of the final four points for the 25-19 set victory.
The Pirates once again led for most of the third set and took a 20-16 lead on Buchanan's kill but in identical fashion to the first set, Charlotte stormed back and ended the set on a 6-1 run.
It was all Charlotte in the fourth set as the Niners raced out to an early 10-4 lead and never allowed the Pirates to threaten en route to a 25-14 set win that secured the 3-1 match victory.
Up Next
East Carolina will look to bounce back on its home floor Sunday against Tulane at noon on ESPN+.
Sydney Buchanan added nine kills for the Pirates (8-6, 0-3 American) who dropped their fifth straight match.
Jessica Ricks led Charlotte (11-4, 2-1 American) with 16 kills.
The Pirates wasted little time at the start of the first set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead behind a 7-0 scoring run that included four kills from Pate to force an early timeout from Charlotte. The Niners responded with a 5-1 spurt to pull within two points but the Pirates continued to fend off the Niners until a kill from Jaylen Jordan tied the match at 17-17.Â
ECU scored three unanswered to go ahead 20-17 but Charlotte responded again with a 3-0 run of their own that forced East Carolina to use their final timeout of the set. Charlotte's run continued on back-to-back kills from Jordan and the Pirates were unable to stop the momentum as the Niners ended the set on an 8-1 run.
In the second set, East Carolina did not allow a Charlotte comeback as the Pirates finished the set strong by closing out the set scoring three of the final four points for the 25-19 set victory.
The Pirates once again led for most of the third set and took a 20-16 lead on Buchanan's kill but in identical fashion to the first set, Charlotte stormed back and ended the set on a 6-1 run.
It was all Charlotte in the fourth set as the Niners raced out to an early 10-4 lead and never allowed the Pirates to threaten en route to a 25-14 set win that secured the 3-1 match victory.
Up Next
East Carolina will look to bounce back on its home floor Sunday against Tulane at noon on ESPN+.
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Team Stats
ECU
CLT
Kills
48
49
Errors
24
17
Attempts
167
154
Hitting %
.144
.208
Points
59.0
67.0
Assists
42
46
Aces
4
8
Blocks
7
10
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Sunday, October 20
Thursday, August 31
Sunday, November 07
Friday, November 05










