Today the Bearcats welcomed back East Carolina University for the second match of the series here at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats completed the series sweep today with a big 3-0 win.
Today’s contest between the Pirates of ECU and the Bearcats was a neck and neck fight all the way to the end. The Bearcats started off strong as they continued where they left off from Game 1 of the series as they came in with the same energy they left off with. The Bearcats were in a neck and neck battle the whole match, but they fought adversity and put the game away when it came time to in each set. The first set was back and forth as they were tied up multiple times throughout the set before the Bearcats pulled away and took the first set of the match 25-23. The Pirates on the other hand were not giving up yet as they tried to even this match up early, but just couldn’t capitalize while the Bearcats on the other hand did exactly that. The Bearcats overcame a late surge from the Pirates late in the set to pull out another close hard fought set that the bearcats answered at the right times and had their runs when they needed to as they held on to take Set Two with the score of 25-23. The third and final set was an absolute thriller to say the least. This was a dogfight until the end to say the least. The 3rd and final set was filled with energy from both teams as they went all the way to 30-28 as the bearcats finished on a nice kill from Adria Oliver. Anytime a set goes above 25 be ready for a ride because teams won’t give up easily and you’ll be in for a ride every time. The Bearcats controlled the energy and capitalized off East Carolina’s mistakes. The high energy match was a fun one to watch to say the least. The Bearcats showed again how fun they are to watch as they took home a thriller to win 30-28 to complete the three game sweep. Bearcats stat leaders for today’s contest were Maria Mallon as she led the way with 13 kills as well as 11 digs. Adria Oliver recorded 11 kills while recording three blocks. Maria Tobergte recorded seven kills, 10 digs, Libero Payton Frederick recorded 13 Digs as the libero played a key role in todays victory as the Bearcats tough defense out battled the Pirates on offense which was the key factor of today’s game.
The Bearcats improved to 4-2 (2-0 AAC) with todays victory. The Bearcats will be on the road for the next month when they travel to Butler on February 20th before another road series on March 4, 5th when they travel to Tampa, Florida to take on USF.
