STATESBORO, Ga. – East Carolina wrapped up its participation at the Bash in the Boro tournament Saturday afternoon with a tidy 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-15) victory over UNC Greensboro inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
The Pirates (2-1) responded to last night’s defeat to Georgia Southern with a solid all-around performance. ECU hit a stout .320 with 41 kills on 100 attempts and only nine errors while forcing the Spartans (0-2) into 18 attacking miscues on 112 swings for a .161 percentage. The Pirates also racked up 50 digs, five total blocks and six service aces, winning the stat sheet battle in all three categories.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Angeles Alderete was spectacular offensively, notching a match-high 11 kills and no errors to fire at a .407 clip while adding eight digs to her ledger. Freshman middle blocker Farah Farooq saw her first extended playing time of her collegiate career and responded with five kills, three blocks, four digs and a .364 hitting percentage. Junior libero Tia Shum paced all players with 10 digs while classmate and setter Payton Evenstad chipped in with 20 assists and six digs. Jocelyn Carter led UNCG with 10 kills but committed five errors to hit just .152.
 
The sides battled to a 7-7 deadlock in the opening frame before Izzy Marinelli and Alderete put down consecutive kills to afford East Carolina some breathing room. The Pirates would extend that lead all the way to 18-12 before rolling to the eight-point victory and an early match lead.
 
The second stanza proved a tussle as neither squad could build more than a two-point cushion at any stage. Brittany Wood and Evenstad recorded two-straight kills to put the Pirates up 20-18, but the Spartans rallied to knot the score at 23 via a Hallie Cook score. ECU had the last word though and utilized a pair of kills by Alderete and Marinelli to head to the intermission up two sets to none.
 
UNC Greensboro raced out of the gates in the third frame, looking to extend the match, but the Pirates ripped off an 8-0 run behind a strong Lara Uyar serving run to completely erase an early 7-1 deficit. East Carolina rolled from there, eventually winning the stanza by 10 points to seal the sweep.
 
Up Next: ECU opens its home schedule Thursday evening, welcoming Campbell to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for the first match of the 2023 Pirate Invitational. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.