Tulane University
12-7, 4-3
East Carolina University*
12-5, 2-5
Volleyball Falls to East Carolina in Hard-Fought Conference Matchup
Oct 13, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
Photo Gallery | Final Stats
NEW ORLEANS – Tulane volleyball played hard through four sets on Thursday night at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, but the team couldn't overcome an early 2-0 deficit to seal a victory over conference foe East Carolina. The Green Wave fell 3-1 in their first home match in two weeks, dropping to 12-7 on the year and 4-3 in American Athletic Conference play.
QUOTE
"Tonight was tough. A couple of players had been playing really consistently for us, but they just didn't have their top game tonight. The effort was there, we just didn't play smart in key moments. We turned it around in set three and had momentum on our side, but serving made a difference in the last set. We have to bounce back, and there's no better way to rebound than beating the top team in the league when Cincinnati comes to town on Saturday.
HOW IT WAS WON
Senior middle hitter Sarah Strasner would notch the first point of the night for either team on her first of 12 kills in the match, her highest since hitting 14 against Tulsa two weeks ago. Tulane would hold a slim lead for the majority of set one, falling behind after ECU tied things up at 20-all and falling 25-21 to the Pirates. Set two told a similar story for the Green Wave, who started the set on a four-point run. Tulane would widen the gap to a seven-point lead on a score of 16-9, but ECU battled back to move to 2-0 in the match on a 25-22 set-two victory.
Tulane's offense came alive in the third set, notching 21 kills to ECU's 16. The Green Wave staved off a Pirate set point on multiple occasions before sealing the win and forcing a fourth set on an exciting 29-27 final. Serving errors ultimately did the Wave in on the night, as Tulane would fall just short of the Pirates on a 25-23 set-four loss.
On the night, junior right-side hitter Sarah Ray led the Green Wave in kills for the fourth straight match with 15, while Strasner would hit .440 on her 12 kills. Sophomore middle hitter Dayna Kern had a match-leading five blocks.
UP NEXT
The Green Wave remain at home to face Cincinnati on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. On Thursday night, the Bearcats took three straight from Houston on the road for their third consecutive match sweep. The Tulane volleyball players will honor their families prior to the Cincinnati match with a special Parents Day presentation.
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