Oct. 26, 2002

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers volleyball team dodged a bullet Saturday night, defeating East Carolina, 3-1, in a close Conference USA match. Although the the Niners won in four, no game was decided by more than four points with the last three decided by two.

Four players registered double-figure totals in kills for Charlotte (13-11, 4-3 C-USA). Abbey Szlanfucht led the way, knocking down 18 to go along with seven digs. Courtney Burg had her 13th double-double of the season with 10 kills and a match-best 16 digs. Her 16 digs give her 1,077 for her career, 10th on the school's career list. Jessica Kelly and Lisa Newell had 10 kills as well. Kelly contributed four blocks, while Newell had three. East Carolina (5-18, 0-7 C-USA) had three players with more than 10 kills, led by Pam Ferris with 13. She just missed a double-double with nine digs.

After taking 30-26 and 30-28 wins in the first two games, the 49ers felt good entering game three. The Pirates refused to go quietly, however, rallying from an 11-6 deficit to win 30-28. In game four, Charlotte had to do some rallying of their own. After trailing by as many as 10 points at 16-6, East Carolina came back to take a 27-24 lead. The Niners settled down to take the next three points, tying the game on a Szlanfucht kill, and clinched the match on a Ferris attack error.

Charlotte returns to action next weekend, when they host Tulane and Southern Miss in a pair of C-USA matches. The 49ers take on the Green Wave Friday, while the Golden Eagles visit Halton Arena Saturday. Both matches begin at 7:00.