GREENVILLE, N.C. --The East Carolina volleyball team lost their final match of the regular season to Marquette Saturday night by a score of 3-1 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Marquette's Erica Heisser led the Golden Eagles offense with 21 kills.

The Pirates (11-17, 5-8 C-USA) were led by freshman outside hitter Kelley Wernert for the second consecutive night on offense. Wernert finished with a team-high 13 kills while junior middle blocker Paige Howell and junior outside hitter Erica Wilson finished with 12 and 11 kills respectively. Sophomore setter Heidi Krug finished the match with a double-double, collecting 54 set assists and 14 digs. Johanna Bertini led the defense with 18 digs while Caitlin Daly recorded double-digit digs (10) for the second consecutive night.

Marquette's Heisser finished with an attack percentage of .421 and only five errors on 38 attack attempts. The Golden Eagles (20-6, 10-3 C-USA) finished with four attackers reaching double-digit kills including Theresa Coughlin (16), Kimberley Todd (15) and Jamie Mueller (10). Setter Sarah Vernon nearly missed recording a triple-double, finishing with nine kills, 63 set assists and nine digs. Erin Freer finished with 18 digs to lead the way for the Golden Eagles on defense.

East Carolina won the first game, 30-24. Wilson recorded half of her total digs in the first game with a .714 attack percentage. Wernert and junior outside hitter Pam Ferris each chipped in three kills for ECU. The Pirates hit .419 as a team with 17 kills on 31 attempts. Bertini and Krug combined for 10 digs in game one.

Marquette bounced back in game two, winning 30-27. Heisser recorded eight kills while Todd and Vernon added three a piece. Neither team hit particularly well in game two with the Golden Eagles hitting .093 and the Pirates hitting just .043.

The Golden Eagles maintained momentum in the third game with a 30-25 win. Coughlin led the offense with six kills while Freer recorded four digs to lead the defense. Marquette hit .378 as a team in the third game, collecting 22 kills and only five errors.

Coughlin continued her strong play into the fourth game, adding seven kills and only one error. Vernon led the offense with 21 assists in the fourth game. The Golden Eagles hit .302 in the final game while the Pirates collected just 11 kills with a .143 attack percentage.

The Pirates have concluded regular season play this season but will return to action this week at the 2004 Conference USA Volleyball Tournament in Louisville, Ky. Seeding for the tournament will be determined on Sunday, Nov. 14. The tournament will begin play on Friday, Nov. 19 and conclude with the championship game, which will be televised by CSTV and affiliates of the C-USA Television Network on Monday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m.