ECU Travels to Houston for a Sunday Afternoon Contest
October 04, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 13: ECU at Houston | |
| Date | Sunday, October 4 |
| Time | 2:00 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina travels to Houston, Texas to take on the Houston Cougars at the Athletics/Alumni Center on Sunday, October 5. First serve is set for 2 p.m. ET.
The Series vs. Houston
The Pirates and the Cougars will meet for the 16th time in program history and Houston leads the all-time series 14-1. Houston swept East Carolina in the last meeting when the Cougars won 25-20, 25-13, 28-26 at Minges Coliseum on October 12, 2012. The Pirates are looking for their first win over Houston since 2006, when they defeated the Cougars, 3-1 [30-22, 20-30, 30-21, 30-27] on October 22, 2006, in Greenville, N.C.
Last Time Out
East Carolina dropped a 3-1 [25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 23-25] decision to Tulane Friday ngiht to fall to 0-3 in American Conference action. The Pirates had four scorers in double figures and two players register double-doubles, but they were unable to overcome 12 service errors and a Tulane squad that hit .322 on the evening. Junior middle blocker Kierra Lee-Dunson knocked down a team-leading 13 kills while hitting .458 for East Carolina. She also added three block assists in the setback. Sydney Darden, Ashley McRae and Ashton Mares finished the contest with 11 kills each. Darden collected her seventh double-double of the year with 13 digs, while Zarah Cecich collected a double-double of her own with 35 assists and 10 digs. Cecich narrowly missed the triple-double as she recorded nine kills for the Pirates. Defensively, junior libero Lauren Bewick collected a career-high 18 digs, while junior defensive specialist Erika Figueroa added 11. East Carolina opened the match hitting .405 and knocked down 18 kills with a 71-percent sideout percentage. Despite the hot hitting from the Pirates, Tulane stayed in the game as the Green Wave collected 12 kills on .206 hitting. With the set tied at 19-19, Darden recorded a kill to give ECU a lead it would not relinquish. The Pirates knocked down three consecutive kills from Bella Borgiotti, Cecich and Lee-Dunson to win the set, 25-21. Tulane evened the match at one set a piece as the Green Wave boasted 19 kills on a .459 attack percentage in the second set. The Green Wave jumped out in front 3-0 as Tulane took advantage of three consecutive ECU errors and never looked back. Tulane led throughout the set and claimed a 25-19 win following a kill from Ray. Although the Pirates were out-hit by the Green Wave in the third set, .371 - .162, ECU managed to keep the contest close as the Pirates and Green Wave battled through several early ties. East Carolina took a 12-8 lead after a kill from Mares and a Tulane miscue forcing the Green Wave to call a timeout. After the break in action, Tulane slowly chipped away and evened the score at 16-all. The Green Wave went on to take the lead after a pair of Pirate attack errors did not allow ECU to come back as the hosts edged East Carolina, 25-22. The Pirates took a quick 3-0 lead in the fourth set and led early on. However, Tulane fought its way back into the game and tied the set at 23-23 after an ECU attack error. With the contest tied, the Pirates committed two more errors as Tulane won the set, 25-23, and the match by a score of 3-1.
About the Pirates
ECU is looking for its first American Conference victory of the year as it travels to Houston, Texas, to go up against the Houston Cougars Sunday afternoon. The Pirates are 7-5 overall and 0-3 in the American Conference after dropping their last three league matches to UConn, 1-3, Temple, 0-3, and Tulane, 1-3. East Carolina is hitting .225, while averaging 12.04 kills per set. The Pirates own 594 digs for 13.20 per set, while averaging 10.93 assists per set and 1.82 blocks per set. ECU's opponents average 11.96 kills per set, with 11.00 assists per set, 13.16 digs per set and 1.06 blocks per set with a .206 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden leads the Pirates with 140 kills for an average of 3.18 per set. She is also the team leader in digs with 124 for 2.82 per set. Additionally, Darden has contributed 18 total blocks, 15 assists and 11 service aces. Senior setter Zarah Cecich has dished out 376 assists per set to average 8.36 per set, while also posting 73 digs (1.62 per set), 55 kills (1.22 per set), and 22 total blocks (0.49 per set). Sophomore middle hitter Ashley McRae owns a team-leading attack percentage of .420, while adding a team-high 38 total blocks for an average of 0.86 per set, while adding 99 kills (2.25 per set).
Scouting the Cougars
Houston owns a 9-6 overall record and is 1-2 in the American Conference after dropping a pair of contests to Cincinnati (3-2) and Memphis (3-1), before defeating Tulane (3-1) on Wednesday. The Cougars are 5-3 at home and have a .241 attack percentage. Houston is averaging 14.0 kills per set as the Cougars have accumulated 827 on the year. The Cougars setters are dishing out 13.02 assists per set, while the defense averages 15.32 digs per set and 1.69 blocks per set. Kadi Kullerkann averages a team and conference leading 4.98 kills per set while adding 25 blocks (0.42 per set) and 19 digs (0.32 per set). Keandra McCardell is the Cougars' primary setter as she has posted 524 assists to average 11.39 per set. She also adds 89 digs (1.93 per set), 23 kills (0.50 per set) and 12 blocks (0.26 per set). Natalie Keck has been soild for the Houston defense with 293 digs to average 4.97 per set. Kaiti Waters has turned in a good performance at the net as she has notched 50 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 2,247 assists in her career to rank fourth in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 376 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.
Coming Up
East Carolina returns to Minges Coliseum Friday, October 10, when the Pirates welcome USF to Greenville, N.C. Match time is set for 7 p.m. The contest is employee appreciation day as all ECU faculty and staff will receive up to four free tickets with a valid OneCard. Additionally, fans are encouraged to "Paint it Purple" as all fans wearing purple will receive $2 admission.
