SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah State University drops its home opener to East Carolina 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-7) on Sunday at Willcox-Wiley Gym. 

Junior setter Caitlynn Masoe led the team with eight kills and added four assists and eight digs, while freshman setter Briana Littlejohn led the team with nine assists and added two kills and three digs and junior libero Alexis Washington had 11 digs and added three assists.
 
With an early 5-4 ECU (1-0) lead in the first set, the Lady Pirates scored seven of the next nine points to open their lead to six, 12-6.  ECU went on to outscore the Lady Tigers 13-4 during the rest of the set to take a 1-0 lead.  Junior middle blocker Gabrielle Nathaniel and Littlejohn led the team with two kills each, while Masoe with three assists and added three digs and Washington with five digs. 
 
The Lady Tigers (0-4) won the first point in the second set from a service ace from freshman outside hitter Makayla Tam.  But the Lady Pirates scored 14 of the next 17 points to take a 14-4 lead.  SSU kept the pace with ECU during the rest of the set as ECU outscored SSU 11-10 to take an early 2-0 lead.  Masoe led SSU with five kills and had a .625 hitting percentage and added an assists and three digs and Littlejohn with four assists, while Washington added three digs.
 
ECU scored the first nine points of the third set forcing an SSU timeout.  After a kill from Masoe, the Lady Pirates scored 16 of the next 22 points to win the set and the match.
 
The Lady Pirates were led by Ashton Mares with 11 kills and had a .375 hitting percentage and added six digs, Sabrina Gonzalez with 18 assists and added two kills, eight digs and two block assists, and Erika Figueroa with 11 digs. 
 
 Short Box Score (Match)
 ECU vs Savannah State (Aug 30, 2015 at Savannah, Ga.)
 
 ECU def. Savannah State 25-10,25-14,25-7
 
  ECU (1-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - MARES, Ashton 11-2-0; McRAE, Ashley
  7-0-1; LEE-DUNSON, Kierra 6-1-3; MONTINI, Natalie 5-0-1; GONZALEZ,
  Sabrina 2-0-2; KRAMER, Dayna 1-0-0; BRANAM, Kaitlyn 0-1-0; BEWICK,
  Lauren 0-1-0; NWABUKO, Jessica 0-0-1; LEE-DUNSON, Sierra 0-0-2;
  WILLIAMS, Megan 0-1-0; FIGUEROA, Erika 0-1-0; Totals 32-7-5.0.
  (Assists) - GONZALEZ, Sabrina 19. (Dig leaders) - FIGUEROA, Erika 11;
  GONZALEZ, Sabrina 8
 
  Savannah State (0-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - MASOE,Caitlynn 8-0-0;
  NATHANIEL,Gabrielle 3-0-0; THOMAS,Zariya 3-0-0; LITTLEJOHN,Briana
  2-0-0; LYLE,Christian 1-0-0; TAM,Makayla 1-1-0; Totals 18-1-0.0.
  (Assists) - . (Dig leaders) - WASHINGTON,Alexis 11; MASOE,Caitlynn 8
 
  Site: Savannah, Ga. (Willcox-Wiley Gym)
  Date: Aug 30, 2015   Attend: 215   Time: 1:11   
  Referees: Morgan Shannon, Lester Hayman
 
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