Pirate Volleyball Heads to Marshall for Friday Contest
October 03, 2012 | Volleyball
Oct. 3, 2012
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's volleyball team will kick off the month of October with a road match at Marshall in Huntington, W.Va., Friday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m.
After a rough September which saw ECU go 0-12, the Pirates hope to see their fortunes change along with the calendar. East Carolina is currently 1-15 overall and 0-5 in Conference USA action. The Pirates are coming off of a 3-0 sweep at the hands of UCF which extended ECU's losing streak to 14 matches.
The Pirates and the Thundering Herd (14-5, 4-1 C-USA) will meet for the 17th time in program history and Marshall leads the all-time series with a 14-2 ledger. The two squads faced each other earlier this season when ECU hosted Marshall at the Pirate Invitational on Sept. 13. The Herd came out on top of a 3-1 decision at East Carolina.
Junior Nicole Willis leads the way for the Pirates with a team-best 161 kills and is averaging 3.58 kills per set. She has also amassed 129 digs, 22 total blocks, 11 service aces and nine assists for a team-leading 183.5 points. Shelby Beasley has been consistent defensively for ECU in the back row. The junior from Winter Park, Fla., has registered a team-high 250 digs on the year to average 4.31 digs per set which is good for third in the conference. Sophomore Zarah Cecich and junior Kasey Kavanaugh have been platooning at setter. Cecich currently leads the Pirates with 318 assists (6.62 assists per set), while Kavanaugh has posted 162 assists (4.38 assists per set). Senior Kelly Derby continues to dominate the net as she has put up a total of 69 blocks to lead the team. She is averaging 1.19 blocks per set.
