No. 1 Cal Awaits Volleyball Saturday
September 03, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2011
| Match 4: No. 1 Cal | |
| Date | Saturday, September 3 |
| Time | 1:00 p.m. |
| Location | Charlottesville, Va. (Memorial Gymnasium) |
| Match Notes | East Carolina Match Notes  |
| Statistics | |
| Internet Coverage | Tournament Live Stats | Saturday Live Chat |
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - East Carolina looks to place itself back in the win column Saturday, meeting No. 1 Cal at 1 p.m. to close out its participation in the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup.
The Pirates fell victim to a sweep against Virginia before falling in four sets to Long Island in the nightcap Friday. ECU dominated the Blackbirds 25-12 in the first set but allowed Long Island to rally and take the next three.
Senior Britney Roper went for a combined 24 kills in the two matches, including a team-best 16 against the Blackbirds. Enjoying an errorless day was redshirt junior Kelly Derby who racked up nine kills on 19 attempts to hit .474 for the day. Defensively, sophomore Shelby Beasley collected 26 digs for an average of 3.71 per set. Additionally, Derby was a force at the net, tallying 13 blocks in the seven frames.
Meanwhile, the Bears swept both the Cavaliers and Blackbirds Friday, but were tested in a couple of sets. Virginia pushed Cal to a 31-29 score in the first frame of their match while Long Island reached 20 points in the second interval of their affair.
Set one was the most exciting and closely fought set of volleyball that the Bears had played thus far with the two squads tying things 14 times and the lead changing hands five times. Errors plagued both sides in the first frame with Cal hitting .193 to best UVa's .143. Tarah Murray put forth one of the best performances of the Bears' year with seven digs and eight kills.
Despite being pushed against yesterday's competition, Cal has yet to drop a set in five matches.
UP NEXT FOR THE PIRATES: After today's meeting with the Bears, East Carolina returns to the court Friday, September 9 in its first match of the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire Tournament, hosted by UNC Wilmington. The Pirates will take on the host Seahawks at 7:30 p.m. inside newly-renovated Hanover Hall.
