Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GREENVILLE, N.C. – Tennessee Tech stormed back from a 2-0 deficit, and East Carolina made quick work of the Norfolk State volleyball team as the Spartans dropped a pair of matches on Friday at the East Carolina Invitational at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
The Spartans (0-5) looked to be on the way to their first win of the season, as they won 25-23 and 25-15 in the first two sets against Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles, though, took the third set, 25-20, won in extra points in the fourth, 29-27, and then finished the comeback with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set.
East Carolina, on the other hand, won 25-11 and 25-13 in the first and third sets, although NSU did stay close in the second set before falling 25-23.
Junior
Jessica Johnson and freshman
Hope Forsythe each had 14 kills against Tennessee Tech (1-4) in a match that started off close. But tied at 6-6, Forsythe had four kills during an 11-0 run for NSU. The Eagles got back into the set with 6-0 and 4-1 runs, and they held off set point three times before the Spartans finally ended things with a kill from Johnson.
Freshman
Clarke Tyler had a pair of kills as NSU took a five-point lead in the second set. Forsythe had three kills a little later to push the lead to 17-10. The Spartans used a 5-0 run late in the set to seal things.
The Spartans had their best chance to win in the fourth set. After finding themselves down 9-3, they won six straight and then took the lead at 13-12 when senior
Kylee Thiim had a pair of blocks. Down 18-14, NSU had to make another comeback, and the Spartans did, eventually taking a 24-23 lead on a kill from Johnson.
Tennessee Tech's Cody Dodd, though, saved the Eagles from a loss three straight times when NSU had a one-point lead. She followed up the third of those three kills with a service ace to flip the advantage to the Eagles, who won the fourth set a short time later.
NSU fell behind 4-0 in the fifth set, and the Spartans eventually cut the deficit to one at 10-9 on a kill from sophomore
Janay Frazier. Thanks to Dodd's serving, though, the Eagles won four straight to end any hopes of an NSU comeback.
Tyler and Frazier each had 10 kills for an offense that hit .178. Thiim had five blocks.
Dodd had 18 kills, 11 digs and five blocks. The Eagles hit .199 but also gave plenty of points away with 17 service errors.
Forsythe and sophomore
Dominique Parker each had seven kills against East Carolina (2-0), which was only threatened by the Spartans in the second set.
Several errors on the Pirates contributed to a 7-1 NSU run that gave the Spartans a 13-8 lead in the second set. ECU took the lead back thanks to a 9-2 run before NSU went ahead 19-18. The Pirates won the next two serves before the teams traded points the rest of the way.
The Pirates used a 12-0 run to cruise in the first set, and in the third ECU jumped ahead 12-4 and the Spartans never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
Sydney Darden and Ashton Mares combined for 21 kills for ECU, which hit .329 for the match compared to .087 for NSU. Ashley McRae added eight kills and seven blocks, helping the Pirates finish with an 11-1 edge in blocks.
NSU will take on UNC Wilmington tomorrow at 1 p.m.
