Volleyball Closes Out Non-Conference Schedule
September 16, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2010
Georgetown Classic Schedule
Friday, September 17
5:00 p.m. - Binghamton at Georgetown
7:00 p.m. - East Carolina vs. Furman
Saturday, September 18
11:00 a.m. - Binghamton vs. Furman
1:00 p.m. - East Carolina at Georgetown
4:30 p.m. - East Carolina vs. Binghamton
7:00 p.m. - Furman at Georgetown
Live Chat | Pre-Tournament Notes 
East Carolina Volleyball Gameday Central
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Three non-conference contests remain on the docket for the East Carolina volleyball team as the Pirates travel to Washington, D.C. for the Georgetown Classic. ECU faces Furman Friday in the second match of the event after Binghamton battles the host Hoyas. First serve between the Pirates and Paladins is scheduled for 7 p.m.
East Carolina is still searching for its first victory of the 2010 campaign after dropping three matches at the Wake Forest Black and Gold Challenge last weekend. The Pirates nearly knocked off Campbell Friday, leading the contest two sets to one and holding a 23-21 lead in the fourth set, but the Camels rallied to take the fourth frame and clinched the win with a 15-13 decision in the fifth set. Saturday, ECU suffered sweeps against West Virginia and the host Demon Deacons.
Redshirt junior Nicole Jones was named to the all-tournament team after picking up 30 digs in 11 sets - an average of 2.7 per set. Senior Marina Gusman-Brown also had a solid showing in the back row as she assumed the libero duties halfway through the tournament and corralled 40 digs of her own. Junior Amanda Lutzow paced the offense, downing 31 kills. She reached double digits twice with 16 against Campbell and 11 vs. the Mountaineers.
Furman is led on offense by sophomore Natalie Braun, who has 76 kills to her credit, while junior Kelly Kirby (103) and rookie Sarah McCarthy (192) have both handed out more than 100 assists. In the back row, three Paladins have tallied 80-plus digs and at the net, sophomore Caroline Adams has racked up 28 total blocks to lead the squad.
After its match with Furman, ECU will face Georgetown and Binghamton Saturday at 1 and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION: After securing a 26-4 record last season, Furman has started the 2010 campaign dropping six of its nine matches and four of its last five. Most recently, the Paladins knocked off South Carolina State 3-1 in their final contest of the Gamecock Invitational. Meanwhile, Georgetown is off to a 7-5 start and defeated VCU in five sets on the road Tuesday. The Hoyas have won five-straight matches with their last loss a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Maryland. ECU's final opponent of the weekend, Binghamton, is the defending America East Conference champion and has taken three of its last four affairs. The Bearcats are on a modest two-match winning streak, recording sweeps against St. John's and Hampton to close out the University of Buffalo Blue and White Classic.
ONE OF 10: Furman has owned the series with East Carolina, sporting a 9-1 record against the Pirates. The only ECU victory occurred in 2000, a 3-1 triumph in Colleen Munson's first season at the helm of the program.
SPLIT DECISION: The Pirates and Georgetown have played just twice, with each squad winning a match. The last time the teams squared off, East Carolina grabbed a 3-1 victory in the 2006 Jefferson Cup at the University of Virginia.
AGAINST THE AMERICA EAST: ECU has never faced Binghamton in volleyball, but the Pirates do hold a 1-1 record against the Bearcats' conference mate UMBC. In terms of the rest of the conference, ECU has never met Albany, Boston, Hartford, Maine, New Hampshire, Stony Brook or Vermont.
SETTER SWITCH: After freshman Andrea Queck handled the setting duties for the first two weekends of the season, classmate Kasey Kavanaugh stepped in and took over the starting role at the Wake Forest tournament. Kavanaugh was slated to be the starter before the season began, but she suffered a hand injury just days before the Pirates' first contest.
UP NEXT: East Carolina opens Conference USA play with a pair of matches against UTEP Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-26, at Minges Coliseum. Due to the elimination of the league tournament, C-USA has reverted to a 20-match conference schedule after which the regular season champion receives the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
