Friday, September 5
Asheville, N.C.
2:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
4-0,0-0American
3
vs
1
Furman
2-2,0-0SoCon
1
2
3
4
F
Furman
22
27
19
17
1
East Carolina
25
25
25
25
3
Pirates Improve To 5-0 With Wins Over Furman And UNC Asheville
September 05, 2025 | Volleyball
Asheville, N.C. – The East Carolina volleyball team remains undefeated to start the 2025 season as the Pirates earned two four-set victories over Furman and UNC Asheville on Friday at the Bulldog Invitational.
ECU turned in a program record 21 total blocks to defeat Furman in the Pirates' first match of the day before outlasting UNC Asheville in the final contest of Friday's slate.
The Pirates are off to a 5-0 start for the second straight season and have won 15 of their first 17 sets played in 2025.
Match One: East Carolina 3, Furman 1
East Carolina faced its toughest challenge yet of the young 2025 season but a record-setting defensive performance helped push the Pirates past Furman in four sets (25-22, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17).
ECUÂ set a new program record in total blocks for a single match with 21, breaking the previous record of 19 total blocks that was recently matched against App State on Sept. 2, 2023.
Carlia Northcross led the defensive stand at the net for the Pirates with 11 total blocks (10 assists, one solo) while Kai Bailey (five assists, two solo) and Ellie Pate (six assists, one solo) each added seven.
The Pirates found themselves facing their largest deficit of the year in the first set after Furman opened the match on a 7-0 run, forcing a Pirate timeout. ECU chipped away and took the lead at 12-11 on a block from Northcross and Sydney Buchanan. After ECU took a five-point lead, the Paladins closed the gap back to two points on multiple occasions but an attack error from Furman allowed the Pirates to take the first set.
ECU got off to another slow start in the second set, trailing 5-1 early and the Paladins looked to be ready to hand the Pirates their first lost set of the year after extending their lead to 19-14 on an ECU attack error. ECU didn't go quietly in the second set, rallying with a 11-5 run to go in front 25-24. Furman would respond with three straight points to hand ECU its first set loss of the season.
After slow starts in the first two sets, ECU flipped the script in the third set, racing out an early 7-3 lead and the Pirates never allowed Furman to gain any momentum the pivotal set. The Pirates found themselves trailing early in the fourth set but the team continued to fight, turning an 11-7 deficit into a 24-16 lead. ECU slammed the door on the set and the match after Northcross' sixth kill.
Match Two: East Carolina 3, UNC Asheville 1
The Pirates found themselves in another competitive match in the nightcap of the first day of the Bulldog Invitational but East Carolina outlasted host UNC Asheville 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19) to improve to 5-0 and remain undefeated.
Ellie Pate recorded a season-high 16 kills while Sydney Buchanan and Carlia Northcross each added nine kills.
Buchanan recorded three consecutive aces in the first set to give the Pirates some early momentum and those aces would prove to be the difference in the three-point, first set victory for East Carolina. ECU battled back and forth with the Bulldogs in the second set but UNC Asheville closed out the set scoring three of the last four points to erase any chance for a sweep from the Pirates.
ECU's attack was efficient in the third set as the Pirates posted a hitting percentage of .344 compared to their .147 in the second set. The Pirates secured the third set on back-to-back blocks and ECU jumped out to a lead as large as seven in the fourth set that proved to be too much from UNC Asheville to overcome.
Up Next
East Carolina plays West Georgia tomorrow at 11 a.m. to close out its play in Asheville.
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ECU turned in a program record 21 total blocks to defeat Furman in the Pirates' first match of the day before outlasting UNC Asheville in the final contest of Friday's slate.
The Pirates are off to a 5-0 start for the second straight season and have won 15 of their first 17 sets played in 2025.
Match One: East Carolina 3, Furman 1
East Carolina faced its toughest challenge yet of the young 2025 season but a record-setting defensive performance helped push the Pirates past Furman in four sets (25-22, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17).
ECUÂ set a new program record in total blocks for a single match with 21, breaking the previous record of 19 total blocks that was recently matched against App State on Sept. 2, 2023.
Carlia Northcross led the defensive stand at the net for the Pirates with 11 total blocks (10 assists, one solo) while Kai Bailey (five assists, two solo) and Ellie Pate (six assists, one solo) each added seven.
The Pirates found themselves facing their largest deficit of the year in the first set after Furman opened the match on a 7-0 run, forcing a Pirate timeout. ECU chipped away and took the lead at 12-11 on a block from Northcross and Sydney Buchanan. After ECU took a five-point lead, the Paladins closed the gap back to two points on multiple occasions but an attack error from Furman allowed the Pirates to take the first set.
ECU got off to another slow start in the second set, trailing 5-1 early and the Paladins looked to be ready to hand the Pirates their first lost set of the year after extending their lead to 19-14 on an ECU attack error. ECU didn't go quietly in the second set, rallying with a 11-5 run to go in front 25-24. Furman would respond with three straight points to hand ECU its first set loss of the season.
After slow starts in the first two sets, ECU flipped the script in the third set, racing out an early 7-3 lead and the Pirates never allowed Furman to gain any momentum the pivotal set. The Pirates found themselves trailing early in the fourth set but the team continued to fight, turning an 11-7 deficit into a 24-16 lead. ECU slammed the door on the set and the match after Northcross' sixth kill.
Match Two: East Carolina 3, UNC Asheville 1
The Pirates found themselves in another competitive match in the nightcap of the first day of the Bulldog Invitational but East Carolina outlasted host UNC Asheville 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19) to improve to 5-0 and remain undefeated.
Ellie Pate recorded a season-high 16 kills while Sydney Buchanan and Carlia Northcross each added nine kills.
Buchanan recorded three consecutive aces in the first set to give the Pirates some early momentum and those aces would prove to be the difference in the three-point, first set victory for East Carolina. ECU battled back and forth with the Bulldogs in the second set but UNC Asheville closed out the set scoring three of the last four points to erase any chance for a sweep from the Pirates.
ECU's attack was efficient in the third set as the Pirates posted a hitting percentage of .344 compared to their .147 in the second set. The Pirates secured the third set on back-to-back blocks and ECU jumped out to a lead as large as seven in the fourth set that proved to be too much from UNC Asheville to overcome.
Up Next
East Carolina plays West Georgia tomorrow at 11 a.m. to close out its play in Asheville.
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Team Stats
Furman
ECU
Kills
46
54
Errors
36
17
Attempts
159
144
Hitting %
.063
.257
Points
58.0
79.0
Assists
42
49
Aces
5
4
Blocks
7
21
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
11
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter
/ VolleyballMiddle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter
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