Pirate Volleyball Heads to SMU
October 18, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 17: ECU at SMU | |
| Date | Sunday, October 19 |
| Time | 2:00 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina continues its road trip as the Pirates travel to Dallas, Texas, to take on SMU on Sunday, October 19. First serve is set for 2 p.m. ET at Moody Coliseum.
The Series vs. SMU
The Pirates and the Mustangs will meet for the 11th time in program history. SMU holds the edge in the all-time series as the Mustangs lead ECU, 6-4. The last time the two teams faced off, SMU swept East Carolina, 3-0 [17-25, 22-25, 13-25], on September 21, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. ECU is looking for its first victory over SMU since 2008 when the Pirates held off the Mustangs in five sets [13-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13] on October 28 at Williams Arena inside Minges Coliseum.
Last Time Out
The East Carolina volleyball team struggled offensively in a 3-0 [19-25, 17-25, 21-25] loss at Tulsa Friday night. The Golden Hurricane took advantage of missed serves and sub-par passing as the Pirates suffered a sweep. Zarah Cecich recorded 24 assists, six kills, four digs and hit .417 in the match, while Lauren Bewick collected eight digs and an assist. Ashley McRae registered a team-high nine kills, while Ashton Mares notched a team-best 10 digs. East Carolina was out-hit by Tulsa .117 to .196 in three sets. The Golden Hurricane put up 8.0 total team blocks to the Pirates' 1.0. The hosts also held the edge in digs (49-38), aces (6-0), assists (35-31) and kills (37-35). The Golden Hurricane out-slugged the Pirates in the first set as they knocked down 14 kills to ECU's eight. Additionally, Tulsa used a 7-2 run to break a 10-10 tie and force the Pirates to call a timeout as they trailed 17-12. Tulsa pushed the game to set-point and won, 25-19, on an ECU service error. The Pirates managed to post 10 kills in the second frame, however, they were also forced into 10 attack errors as they ultimately recorded a .000 attack percentage. Although Tulsa had its worst offensive output of the match during the second set as it hit .118, the Golden Hurricane still managed to pull out a 25-17 win as they took advantage of the Pirates' many miscues. East Carolina recorded 17 kills in the third set, while Tulsa notched 13. Although the Pirates tallied more kills than their counterparts, the Golden Hurricane only registered three attack errors to hit .270, while ECU hit .205 with eight attack errors. Tulsa led throughout the third set as the Golden Hurricane allowed the Pirates to tie the game once at 5-5 after a Sydney Darden kill. From that point on the hosts held the Pirates at bay and did not allow them to come within striking distance. The Golden Hurricane went on to claim the third and final set, 25-21.
About the Pirates
East Carolina owns a 9-7 overall record and is 2-5 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 followed by a sweep at Tulsa on Friday. As a team, East Carolina is hitting .213 to rank sixth in the American Conference. The Pirates are also averaging 12.10 kills per set, 11.12 assists per set, 13.12 digs per set and 1.62 blocks per set. Sophomore middle hitter Ashley McRae leads the Pirates and is fourth in the conference with a .380 hitting percentage which also ranks her in the top 25 in the nation. McRae has also contributed 136 kills (2.31 per set) and 46 total blocks (0.78 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 2.90 per set after accumulating 168 on the year. Darden also leads the Pirates with 154 digs for an average of 2.66 per set. Senior setter Zarah Cecich owns 520 assists to average 8.60 per set to rank seventh in the league.
Scouting the Mustangs
SMU is coming off of a 3-1 loss at Tulsa last Wednesday as the Mustangs dropped to 15-4 overall and 4-3 in American Athletic Conference action. The Mustangs own a 9-1 record when playing inside Moody Coliseum and are 3-1 at home against league opponents. SMU is hitting .216 while averaging 13.38 kills per set. The Mustangs also average 12.62 assists per set, 15.06 digs per set 2.26 blocks per set and 1.33 service aces per set. Caroline Young is the team leader in kills as she averages 2.99 per set. Abbey Bybel is close behind her with an average of 2.93 kills per set. Avery Acker is the Mustangs' setter as she has dished out 817 assists on the year for an average of 11.35. She also adds 209 digs (2.90 per set), 39 blocks (0.54 per set) and 33 kills (0.46 per set). Defensively, Morgan Heise owns 329 digs to average 4.57 per set. Janelle Giordano has been solid at the net as she has posted a team-best 85 blocks (1.18 per set). Giordano also contributes 160 kills (2.22 per set) and 26 digs (0.36 per set).
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 2,391 assists in her career to rank fourth in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 520 assists this season to average 8.67 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 35 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 returns to Greenville, N.C., to play host to Cincinnati on Friday, October 24 at 7 p.m., at Williams Arena inside Minges Coliseum. Live stats and video will be available on ECUPirates.com.
