Final Stats

BUIES CREEK, N.C. â€"â€" East Carolina edged the Navy volleyball team in a four-set defensive struggle Saturday afternoon in Buies Creek, N.C. The Pirates, who went undefeated at this week's Campbell tournament to improve its record on the year to 8-0, dealt the Mids just their second defeat of the season (7-2) with the 25-20, 16-25, 25-14, 26-24 decision.

"This was a real battle today," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "We're not happy with losing it, but this was a match against a very good opponent that will help us grow."

The opening frame saw the score tied seven times and the lead change hands on three occasions. The Pirates used a 6-0 run late in the set to build a 23-18 lead on their way to taking a 1-0 lead.

Navy bounced right back in the second set by jumping out to a 12-3 lead and never looking back in evening the proceedings.

The third set was a mirrored version of the second as East Carolina separated itself early by taking a 10-4 advantage and leading by at least four points over the remainder of the frame.

The fourth set was pretty close the entire way. Navy was able to take late leads of 21-17 and 22-18, but East Carolina scored four of the next five points to close to within one point at 23-22. A kill by Sarena Seelbach (Fr., Chapel Hill, N.C.) took the Mids to set point, but a service error followed by a Navy ball-handling error allowed the Pirates to tie the score at 24-24. A kill by East Carolina took them to match point, which it converted on an attack error by the Mids.

"We didn't receive a real physical 'pop' from some people today," said Bock. "Many were fine, but for some it is a good example of needing to be ready to go on the second day of back-to-back matches as we will see in the heart of the Patriot League season. A match like this can be a good positive for us for that reason. It was a good tune-up for us."

Defenses dictated play as East Carolina totaled 47 kills and a .167 attack percentage while Navy tallied 44 kills and hit .094. The Pirates also recorded 10 blocks and 55 digs while the Mids accrued 7 blocks and 54 digs.

Dorothy Murray (Jr., Harbor City, Calif.) led the Navy offense with 10 kills, which was one more than teammate Katie Patrick (So., Aurora, Colo.) posted. Patrick also hit .412 in the match and accounted for five blocks, an effort that placed her onto the all-tournament team this weekend. Joining her in earning all-tournament accolades was Patricia Mattingly (Fr., New Albany, Ind.), who totaled 24 assists â€"â€" including career assist No. 1,000 â€"â€" and 12 digs.

"A big positive was Katie's play," said Bock. "She was really good. I also liked how Dorothy came around. She was really solid by the end of the match. And Patricia was Patricia, which means she had another good all-around match.

"Paige Miles (Fr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Sarena also acquitted themselves well, and we needed them."

Navy will close out its non-Patriot League slate of matches next weekend when it plays a trio of matches at Saint Francis U. in Loretto, Pa. The Mids will play Iona on Sept. 16 and both the host Red Flash and Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 17.