East Carolina Resumes Conference Play, Heads to Tulane
October 02, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 12: ECU at Tulane | |
| Date | Friday, October 3 |
| Time | 8:00 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | New Orleans, La. | Devlin Fieldhouse |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina resumes American Conference action when it travels to New Orleans, La., to take on Tulane at Devlin Fieldhouse on Friday, October 3. First serve is set for 8 p.m. ET.
The Series vs. Tulane
The Pirates and the Green Wave will meet for the 16th time in program history and Tulane leads the all-time series 14-1. Last season, Tulane held off East Carolina, 3-1 [22-25, 14-25, 30-28, 21-25] on October 13, 2013 at Minges Coliseum. The Pirates are looking for their first win over the Green Wave since 2012 when ECU defeated Tulane 3-1 [25-20, 14-25, 25-19, 25-14].
Last Time Out
East Carolina hit .255 in a 3-0 [25-21, 25-15, 25-14] sweep of North Carolina Central in a non-conference match Tuesday evening which snapped the Pirates' three-match losing streak. In a contest that saw all 15 Pirates see action on the court, ECU came away with 38 kills, 35 assists, 45 digs, seven service aces and 5.0 total blocks in the team effort. The match got off to a slow start as the Pirates and Eagles traded points via several errors. Senior Zarah Cecich gave East Carolina a 9-8 lead on an ace serve which would put the Pirates ahead for good. Although ECU led the rest of the way, N.C. Central stayed close as the Eagles out-hit the Pirates .259 - .111 in the first set. Despite the Pirates' hitting woes, ECU took advantage of seven service errors from N.C. Central as the hosts won the set, 25-21. Once the Pirates found their rhythm, they came out strong in the second set hitting .250, while the defense forced the Eagles into a negative attack percentage (-.051). East Carolina knocked down 12 kills in the frame with nine coming from the trio of Ashton Mares, Ashley McRae and Kierra Lee-Dunson. The Pirates surged ahead of the Eagles and cruised to a 25-15 victory. East Carolina took a quick 3-0 advantage in the third set after three consecutive attack errors from N.C. Central. The Pirates would hold the lead throughout the frame as they knocked down 15 kills to hit .387, while limiting the Eagles to a mere .074 attack percentage. ECU owned a sideout percentage of 85 en route to a 25-14 win to complete the sweep of N.C. Central.
About the Pirates
ECU is looking for its first American Conference victory of the year as it travels to New Orleans, La., to go up against Tulane Friday night. The Pirates are 7-4 overall and 0-2 in the American Conference after dropping their last two league matches to UConn, 1-3, and Temple, 0-3. East Carolina is hitting .221, while averaging 11.76 kills per set. The Pirates own 533 digs for 13.00 per set, while averaging 10.71 assists per set and 1.85 blocks per set. ECU's opponents average 11.63 kills per set, with 10.66 assists per set, 12.85 digs per set and 0.99 blocks per set with a .193 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden leads the Pirates with 129 kills for an average of 3.22 per set. She is also the team leader in digs with 111 for 2.78 per set. Additionally, Darden has contributed 17 total blocks, 12 assists and 10 service aces. Senior setter Zarah Cecich has dished out 341 assists per set to average 8.32 per set, while also posting 63 digs (1.54 per set), 46 kills (1.12 per set), and 20 total blocks (0.49 per set). Sophomore middle hitter Ashley McRae owns a team-leading attack percentage of .429, while adding a team-high 36 total blocks for an average of 0.90 per set, while adding 88 kills (2.20 per set).
Scouting the Green Wave
Tulane notched its first American Conference win of the season Wednesday night when the Green Wave defeated Houston in four sets [23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21] at Devlin Fieldhouse. With the win, Tulane moved to 3-12 overall and 1-2 in conference action. The Green Wave has struggled as of late putting together an attack percentage of .142 while averaging 11.31 kills per set. Tulane's defense averages 15.12 digs per set along with 2.01 blocks per set. Sarah Ray is the Green Wave's scoring leader with 170 kills to average 3.27 per set. She also contributes 125 digs (2.40 per set), 38 total blocks (0.73), 11 service aces and five assists. Ally Frank and Lauren Etta share setter duties for the Green Wave. Frank has accumulated 266 assists (8.06 per set), while Etta has registered 230 (7.67 per set). On defense, Grace Weaver sets the tone with 161 digs to average 3.22, while Sarah Strasner guards the net with 52 total blocks for an average of 1.00 per set.
The National Spotlight
Sophomore middle blocker Ashley McRae is hitting a team-leading .429 after knocking down 88 kills with just 18 errors on 163 attempts. The Silver Spring, Md., native's attack percentage ranks her second in the American Conference while ranking 13th in the nation. McRae has helped the Pirates put together a .229 team attack percentage to rank fifth in the conference.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 2,212 assists in her career to rank fourth in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 341 assists this season to average 8.31 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 tournament before helping ECU to a 2-2 showing in State College.
A Time to Kill
Sophomore Sydney Darden is the team leader in kills with 129. She is averaging 3.22 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in six matches thus far. She has notched six double-doubles for East Carolina this season and is hitting .134. Darden has helped the Pirates average 11.76 kills per set this year while hitting .221 to rank fifth in the American Conference.
Setting the Standard
Senior Zarah Cecich leads East Carolina in assists with an average of 8.32 per set after dishing out 341 this season. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 2,212 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 10.71 assists per set as sophomore setter Bella Borgiotti and junior libero Lauren Bewick have also contributed to East Carolina's assist average.
Can You Dig It?
Sydney Darden owns a team-best 111 digs to average 2.78 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 libero Lauren Bewick is second on the squad with 98 digs for an average of 2.45 per set. Bewick tallied a career-high 17 digs against Eastern Illinois at the Penn State Alumni Classic last weekend. Darden and Bewick have helped East Carolina average 13.00 digs per set as a team this season, while limiting opponents to .193 hitting.
Block Party
Middle blockers Ashley McRae and Kierra Lee-Dunson have been solid at the net for the Pirates this season. The duo has combined for 64 total blocks this year. McRae leads the Pirates with 36 total blocks (4 solo blocks, 32 block assists) for an average of 0.90 per set, while Lee-Dunson is second on the team with 28 total blocks (4 solo blocks, 24 block assists) as she averages 0.70 per set. As a team, the Pirates are averaging 1.85 blocks per set to rank eighth in the American Conference. ECU's opponents have been limited to putting up just 0.99 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. 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. 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
Following the match at Tulane, the Pirates will head to Houston to take on the Cougars on Sunday, October 5, at 2 p.m. ET. East Carolina is 1-14 overall against Houston. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
