East Carolina to Play at Tulsa Friday Night
October 16, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 16: ECU at Tulsa | |
| Date | Friday, October 17 |
| Time | 8:00 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | Tulsa, Okla. | Donald W. Reynolds Center |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina travels to Oklahoma to take on Tulsa Friday, October 17. The Pirates and the Golden Hurricane will face off at the Reynolds Center at 8 p.m. (ET).
The Series vs. Tulsa
The Pirates and the Golden Hurricane will meet for the 12th time in program history. Tulsa leads the all-time series 10-1. Last season, Tulsa defeated East Carolina, 3-1 [17-25, 22-25, 29-27, 11-25], at the Reynolds Center on October 20, 2013. The Pirates are looking for their first win over the Golden Hurricane since their first meeting in 2005 when ECU turned back Tulsa, 3-1 [30-27, 30-22, 28-30, 30-25], on October 30, in Greenville, N.C.
Last Time Out
The East Carolina volleyball team was unable to overcome a hot-hitting UCF squad that boasted a .444 attack percentage as the Pirates were swept by the Knights, 18-25, 12-25, 20-25, Sunday afternoon at Minges Coliseum. The Pirates' offense turned in a positive effort with 40 kills on .212 hitting, but they were overpowered by the Knights' 46 kills and 44 assists. Defensively, ECU struggled as the Pirates were limited to just 1.0 team block and 31 digs, while UCF was steady in its defensive game with 6.0 total team blocks and 42 digs. Offensively, Sydney Darden and Ashton Mares led the Pirates with nine kills each. Darden also added 11 digs, four assists and one block assist. Zarah Cecich contributed 29 assists, eight kills, two digs and the only service ace of the contest for ECU. The sets were close early on as the conference foes traded points, but UCF always managed to come out on top. The Knights used a balanced offense to take a four-point lead (18-14) on ECU in the first set forcing the Pirates to call a timeout. The Knights came back and pushed it to set point (24-17) as the Pirates took their final timeout of the frame before falling 25-18 to UCF. The second set saw the Knights' offense on full display as they hammered out 13 kills while hitting .476. The UCF defense forced ECU into six attack errors and the Pirates turned in a .083 hitting percentage in the frame. East Carolina was limited to just eight kills in the set and came away with a 25-12 loss and an 0-2 deficit going into the intermission. The Pirates came out in the third set and knocked down 17 kills, but an offensive surge from the Knights kept the Pirates at bay. UCF hit .486 in the frame with 19 kills and just two attack errors. East Carolina stayed close on the Knights' heels, but the Pirates were unable to pull out a win as they fell to UCF, 25-20.
About the Pirates
East Carolina owns a 9-6 overall record and is 2-4 in American Athletic Conference action. The Pirates started the season on a five-match winning streak and are looking to get back on the winning track after a sweep at the hands of conference leader, UCF, last Sunday. As a team, East Carolina is hitting .219 to rank sixth in the American Conference. The Pirates are also averaging 12.12 kills per set, 11.16 assists per set, 13.14 digs per set and 1.68 blocks per set. Sophomore middle hitter Ashley McRae leads the Pirates and is fourth in the conference with a .402 hitting percentage which also ranks her in the top 25 in the nation. McRae has also contributed 127 kills (2.27 per set) and 46 total blocks (0.82 per set). Her blocks per game average also leads the team. Junior outside hitter Sydney Darden is the team leader in kills as she averages 2.96 per set after accumulating 163 on the year. Darden also leads the Pirates with 149 digs for an average of 2.71 per set. Senior setter Zarah Cecich owns 496 assists to average 8.70 per set to rank seventh in the league.
Scouting the Golden Hurricane
Tulsa has won its last three matches as the Golden Hurricane defeated Tulane (3-1), Houston (3-2) and SMU (3-1). The Golden Hurricane is 11-7 overall and 3-4 in conference action. Tulsa owns a 5-2 record while playing at the Reynolds Center and the Golden Hurricane's last loss at home came on September 28 when they lost 3-1 to UCF. Tulsa is a defensive team as the Golden Hurricane has limited opponents to .178 hitting. Tulsa also averages 16.11 digs per set to rank second in the conference. Offensively, Tulsa is struggling with a .189 attack percentage while averaging 12.15 kills per set. The Golden Hurricane leads the American in service aces per set with an average of 1.43. Sophomore Erica Bohannon leads Tulsa with 264 kills for an average of 3.83 per set to rank second in the league. Bohannon also averages 1.68 digs per set and 0.45 blocks per set. Valerie El Houssine is second on the team with 3.05 kills per set to rank 10th in the conference. She also leads the American with 28 service aces for an average of 0.54. Bailey Clampitt is the Golden Hurricane's setter as she has dished out 668 assists on the year to average 9.62 per set which ranks her fifth in the league. Clampitt also contributes 2.55 digs per set. Defensively, the Golden Hurricane is led by sophomore Brooke Berryhill's 318 digs for 4.61 per set. Berryhill is ranked sixth in the American.
The National Spotlight
Sophomore middle blocker Ashley McRae is hitting a team-leading .402 after knocking down 127 kills with just 30 errors on 241 attempts. The Silver Spring, Md., native's attack percentage leads the Pirates, ranks fourth in the American Conference and places her 25th in the nation. McRae has helped the Pirates put together a .219 team attack percentage to rank sixth in the conference.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 2,367 assists in her career to rank fourth in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 496 assists this season to average 8.70 per set to rank seventh in the conference. She notched a season-high 58 assists in the Pirates' 3-2 win over Eastern Illinois to open the Penn State Alumni Classic before helping ECU to a 2-2 showing in State College. Cecich is 59 assists away from moving into third place.
A Time to Kill
Sophomore Sydney Darden is the team leader in kills with 163. She is averaging 2.96 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in eight matches thus far. She has notched eight double-doubles for East Carolina this season and is hitting .137. Freshman Ashton Mares is second on the squad with 144 kills for an average of 2.62 per set. Darden and Mares have helped the Pirates average 12.12 kills per set this year while hitting .29 to rank sixth in the American Conference.
Setting the Standard
Senior Zarah Cecich leads East Carolina in assists with an average of 8.70 per set after dishing out 496 this season. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 2,367 career assists to rank fourth all-time. She recorded a season-best 58 against Eastern Illinois Friday, September 19, to help ECU capture a 3-2 win over the Panthers at the Penn State Alumni Classic. As a team, the Pirates average 11.16 assists per set as sophomore setter Bella Borgiotti has also contributed to East Carolina's assist average with 47 assists of her own (1.24 per set).
Can You Dig It?
Sydney Darden owns a team-best 149 digs to average 2.71 per set. She tallied a career-high 17 digs on two occasions against Morgan State and Eastern Illinois, as she helped guide East Carolina to a pair of 3-2 wins over the Bears and Panthers. Junior defensive specialist Erika Figueroa is second on the squad with 136 digs for an average of 2.39 per set. Figueroa tallied a season-high 17 digs in the Pirates' 3-2 win at Houston on October 5. Darden and Figueroa have helped East Carolina average 13.14 digs per set as a team this season.
Block Party
Sophomore middle blocker Ashley McRae has been solid at the net for the Pirates this season. She owns 46 total blocks this year (4 solo blocks, 42 block assists) for an average of 0.82 per set. Junior Kierra Lee-Dunson is second on the team with 36 total blocks (5 solo blocks, 31 block assists) as she averages 0.64 per set. As a team, the Pirates are averaging 1.68 blocks per set. ECU's opponents have been limited to putting up just 1.29 blocks per set this season.
All-Tourney
At the East Carolina Invitational, two Pirates were named to the All-Tournament Team. Senior setter Zarah Cecich and junior middle blocker Kierra Lee-Dunson picked up the honors after helping lead ECU to a 3-0 record to start the season. Cecich finished the weekend with 84 assists (7.64 per set), 15 kills, 11 digs, five blocks and four service aces. Lee-Dunson was solid at the net as she posted a team-best 14 total blocks (1.27 per set) to go along with 10 kills, two digs and one ace. Two weeks later, Sydney Darden collected All-Tournament Team Honors after being named to the Penn State Classic Team. Darden finished the weekend in State College, Pa., with 64 kills to average 3.76 per set, 47 digs for an average of 2.76 per set, nine total blocks (0.53 per set), seven assists (0.41 per set) and three service aces. She knocked down a career-high 26 kills while hitting .317 in the Pirates' 2-3 setback against UIC. She also added a career-best 17 digs in ECU's 3-2 win over Eastern Illinois.
The American
East Carolina joins the American Athletic Conference for the 2014 season along with Tulane and Tulsa. The Pirates will compete against common foes from their Conference USA years in Houston, Memphis, SMU and UCF, while meeting new opponents such as Cincinnati, Temple, UConn and USF.
All in the Family
There are a few East Carolina family connections on the roster again this season. Junior Torre Blake, who has played in 22 sets this season and owns 12 kills and six digs, is the daughter of Jeff Blake who played football at ECU and proceeded to enjoy a lengthy NFL career. She is also the cousin of Isaiah Jones, a sophomore receiver on the Pirate football team. Additionally, Kierra and Sierra Lee-Dunson return to the Pirates this season and Kierra has an impressive .349 attack percentage, while Sierra has seen action in three sets thus far. The last time East Carolina had a pair of twins on the court was in 2003 when Sarah and Jessica Vick donned purple and gold from 2001-03.
Coming Up
East Carolina continues its road trip as the Pirates battle it out with SMU in Dallas, Texas, Sunday, October 19, at 2 p.m. (ET). Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
