Spikers Head North To Delaware
September 02, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2010
East Carolina Volleyball Gameday Central
Delaware Invitational Schedule
Friday, September 3
East Carolina vs. Rutgers - 4:00 p.m.
Sam Houston State at Delware - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 4
Rutgers vs. Sam Houston State - 10:00 a.m.
East Carolina at Delaware - 12 noon
East Carolina vs. Sam Houston State - 5:00 p.m.
Rutgers at Delaware - 7:00 p.m.
NEWARK, Del. - The East Carolina volleyball team looks to record its first win of the 2010 season Friday when it battles Rutgers in the first match of the Delaware Invitational Friday at Barbara Viera Court. The match is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.
The Pirates fell victim to a trio of sweeps by Charlotte, Cleveland State and Liberty at the season-opening East Carolina Classic last weekend at Minges Coliseum.
Redshirt Junior Britney Roper had a solid showing during the weekend, earning all-tournament honors after collecting 19 kills and four blocks. She hit .500 in the contest against the Vikings, recording 10 kills on 20 attempts with no errors. Additionally, freshman Shelby Beasley tallied 13 digs in her collegiate debut against the 49ers as part of a 29-dig tournament effort while junior transfer Jackie Varnum racked up nine blocks - including four against Cleveland State.
ECU will welcome back redshirt junior Nicole Jones after she sat out last weekend for a violation of team rules. The Pirates missed four starters last weekend due to various issues (Jones, Kasey Kavanaugh, Amanda Lutzow, Briana Fleener), but Kavanaugh should return next weekend at the earliest while Lutzow and Fleener are out for an undetermined time.
Rutgers is led offensively by Emma Chrystal, who recorded 34 kills at the Long Beach State Baden Classic. Stephanie Zielinski dished out 119 assists for an average of 9.15 per set and also collected a team-best 45 digs (3.46 per set). Alex Jones led the charge at the net, racking up nine blocks (eight assists).
The Pirates close out tournament action Saturday, battling host Delaware at 12 noon before returning to face Sam Houston State at 5 p.m.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION: Rutgers enters the weekend having lost two of three at the Long Beach State Baden Classic. The Scarlet Knights fell to Long Beach State (3-0) and UNLV (3-2) before bouncing back with a 3-2 victory over Sacred Heart. Delaware is 3-1 to begin the season, recording wins over LaSalle (3-0), Temple (3-0) and Villanova (3-0) while suffering a 3-1 loss to Virginia. Meanwhile, Sam Houston State has experienced mixed results so far in 2010, tallying sweeps against Prairie View and Marist but losing 3-2 to Louisiana and 3-0 to Eastern Michigan and Texas A&M.
THE SCARLET LETTER: ECU and Rutgers have met just once in volleyball action, as the Scarlet Knights defeated the Pirates 3-2 at the Towson State Invitational during the 1995 season. East Carolina holds a record of 6-28 against current members of the Big East and is slated to play Georgetown later this season.
DELAWARE BLUES: The Pirates have not found much success against Delaware historically as the Blue Hens have won three of the four meetings. However, ECU picked up its lone win in the most recent affair, sweeping Delaware at the 2008 Black and Gold Challenge in Winston-Salem, N.C.
MEET THE BEARKATS: East Carolina and Sam Houston State have never met on the volleyball court. The Bearkats are one of three programs that the Pirates will face for the first time in 2010 (Cleveland State, Binghamton). ECU does not have much experience playing current members of the Southland Conference, as it owns a 1-2 record against Lamar (0-1), Nicholls State (1-0) and Stephen F. Austin (0-1).
HAVE WE MET?: Having said goodbye to five seniors from last year's squad, the Pirates welcome the future of East Carolina Volleyball in 2010 as eight newcomers join the roster. Six freshman and a junior transfer will don the purple and gold while former Pirate softball standout Marina Gusman-Brown will finish her time at ECU as a spiker.
UP NEXT: The Pirates will travel to Winston-Salem next weekend for the Wake Forest Black/Gold Challenge to square off against Campbell, West Virginia and the host Demon Deacons.
