Houston Falls to ECU in First American Road Contest

Friday, September 28

Greenville, N.C.

6 p.m. CT

University of Houston

13-5, 0-3AAC

ECU

9-4, 1-1AAC

HOUSTON

ECU

Photo by: Wilf Thorne/Wilf Thorne Photography

Houston Falls to ECU in First American Road Contest

9/28/2018 8:11:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Duncan tallies her sixth double-double of the season

By: Ryan Levine

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The University of Houston Volleyball team opened its five-match road swing on Friday night, falling to ECU 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 11-25, 18-25).

GAME 1: HOUSTON 1, ECU 3

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Cougars struggled to get their potent offense going, hitting just .125 in the first set. After the two teams kept pace with each other to start things off, Houston held a 13-12 lead thanks to one of freshman outside hitter Alexis Cheatum's two kills in the match. From there, ECU's defense held Houston to just four points for the rest of the set, as the Pirates went on to win the first frame 25-17.

Set 2
A tightly contested set throughout fell in favor of the Cougars, as Houston scored the final three points to tie the match score at 1-1 with its 25-23 set victory. With a total of 16 score ties and eight lead changes in the second set alone, neither team was able to gain a substantial edge on the other, as the largest lead in the frame was just two points.

Set 3
ECU came out of intermission claiming and early 9-3 lead over Houston. The Cougars managed to trim the deficit to a pair at 11-9, but 12-1 run from the Pirates guided them to the 25-11 set victory.

Set 4
After Houston took an early 7-5 lead to start the frame, ECU climbed its way back into it with a 6-1 run, finding itself holding an 11-8 advantage. When the Cougars called a timeout at the 15-12 mark, the Pirates rallied off three of the next four points, stretching their lead to five, which proved to be enough of a cushion, cruising to the 25-18 set win and 3-1 match victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Houston moves to 6-2 on the season in four-set matches.
Junior outside hitter Megan Duncan tallied her sixth double-double of the season, finishing the match with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Sophomore setter Abby Irvine recorded her eighth 20-assist match of the year.
Freshman outside hitter Alexis Cheatum made her first career start.

UP NEXT
Houston heads to Cincinnati for the second of its five-match road trip with a contest against the Bearcats on Sunday, Sept. 30 at noon CT.

STAY CONNECTED
Follow Houston Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @UHCougarVB, and "Like" UHCougarVB on Facebook.

JOIN POINT HOUSTON CLUB
Fans can help support the Houston Volleyball program by joining the Point HOUSTON Club. To find out more information about the Point HOUSTON Club, visit UHCougars.com or call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH.

– UHCougars.com –