GREENVILLE, N.C. – UCF rallied from a first-set deficit Sunday afternoon on the way to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-22) American Athletic Conference victory over East Carolina inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The Knights (21-6, 14-1 AAC) maintained their grip on first place in the league standings while the Pirates (9-15, 5-10 AAC) earned a split of the weekend after downing South Florida back on Friday night.

McKenna Melville, the preseason AAC Player of the Year, led all players with 18 kills while hitting .300 and collecting a match-best 11 digs. Bri Wood paced ECU with 13 kills, six digs and a .333 hitting percentage.

UCF hit a robust .394, putting down 53 kills on 104 attempts with 12 errors. The Knights also held the upper hand in digs (45-31) and total blocks (6.0-3.0).

With the score tied at 10 in the opening set, East Carolina netted six of the next seven to force a UCF timeout. The Knights rallied from there, eventually knotting things at 18 thanks to a Pirate attacking error. UCF would pull away, allowing ECU to score just two more points the rest of the frame.

Following a lopsided victory in the second set, the visitors came out strong in the third – building a 14-9 advantage that prompted a Pirate timeout. ECU sliced its deficit to 20-17 via an ace by Wood, but the Knights held off the late rally to secure the sweep.

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East Carolina travels to Houston and Tulane next weekend.