ECU Continues Florida Road Trip at USF Sunday
November 01, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 22: ECU at USF | |
| Date | Sunday, November 2 |
| Time | 11:00 a.m. (ET) |
| Location | Tampa, Fla. |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina continues its Florida road swing as the Pirates take on USF on Sunday, November 2 at the Corral at 11 a.m.
The Series vs. USF
The Pirates and the Bulls will meet for the sixth time in program history and USF holds the edge in the all-time series 3-2. Earlier this season, the East Carolina held off USF in four sets [25-18, 7-25, 25-20, 25-21] in Greenville, N.C., on October 10.
Last Time Out
East Carolina suffered a 3-0 [11-25, 22-25, 22-25] sweep at UCF Friday night in Orlando, Fla. The Pirates started out slow as they recorded more attack errors (9) than kills (7) in the first set. However, East Carolina found its rhythm and hit .243 in the following two sets after registering 27 kills and nine errors on 74 attempts. Despite the Pirates' efforts, UCF used a balanced attack to hit .365 throughout the match to complete the sweep. Ashley McRae added to her team-leading attack percentage with six kills on 13 attempts with just one error to hit .385. Ashton Mares and Torre Blake led ECU with seven kills each, while Zarah Cecich recorded a match-high 27 assists. Sydney Darden and Erika Figueroa registered 11 and 10 digs to pace the defense. The Knights took an early 3-0 lead and never looked back as UCF hit .367 in the first set, while ECU hit -.062 in the frame. The hosts owned an 83-percent sideout margin and extended their lead to six (7-1) before going on a 5-0 run to take a 17-4 advantage. The Knights went on to coast to a 25-11 victory. The Pirates came back for the second set and competed with the Knights as they tied the game seven times and exchanged leads four times. East Carolina kept the match close as the Pirates hit .211 with a 47-percent sideout margin. After falling behind, the Pirates regained the lead, 22-20, after three consecutive kills from Natalie Montini, Mares and McRae. UCF battled back and closed out the set with a 5-0 run to hold off East Carolina 25-22. ECU had its best offensive output in the third set as the Pirates notched 13 kills and hit .278. However, UCF also turned in its best offensive effort of the night as the Knights hit .406 with 17 kills. The two teams fought through 15 ties and four lead changes before UCF broke a 22-22 tie with a kill. The Knights took advantage of back-to-back ECU attack errors as they closed out the match on a 3-0 run and won by a score of 25-22.
About the Pirates
East Carolina has compiled an 11-10 overall record and a 3-7 mark in American Conference action with their three conference wins coming against Houston (3-2), USF (3-1) and Cincinnati (3-2). The Pirates are hitting .197 on the year with 935 kills for an average of 11.84 per set. ECU's assists average sits just under 11 at 10.89 per set, while the Pirates have notched 1,078 digs (13.65 per set) and 146.5 total blocks (1.85 per set). Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden leads the team in kills with 212 for an average of 2.83 per set. She also contributes 202 digs (2.69 per set), 31 total blocks (0.41 per set), 32 assists (0.43 per set) and 15 service aces (0.20 per set). Senior setter Zarah Cecich has paced the offense with 670 assists to average 8.59 per set. Cecich has added 143 digs (1.83 per set), 94 kills (1.21 per set), 32 total blocks (0.41 per set) and 17 aces (0.22 per set), while hitting .345. Defensively, junior libero Erika Figueroa owns a team-leading 229 digs while averaging 2.90 per set. She has also posted 43 assists (0.54 per set) and 15 aces (0.19 per set). Sophomore middle blocker Ashley McRae is ECU's leader in attack percentage (.374), which ranks her fourth in the American, and total blocks (61) after accumulating five solo blocks and 56 block assists. She owns 177 kills on 345 attempts with 48 attack errors. McRae's blocks per set average of 0.78 is second on the team only to freshman middle blocker Natalie Montini, who has put up 34 total blocks (three solo blocks and 31 block assists) for an average of 0.94 per set.
Scouting the Bulls
USF is 9-14 on the year and 3-8 in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls have lost seven of their last eight matches dating back to the beginning of October. Their only victory came on October 24 with a 3-0 sweep of Tulane at the Corral. The Bulls are hitting .193 while averaging 11.99 kills per set to go along with 11.33 assists per set. USF has posted 1287 digs on the season to average 14.30 and the Bulls also average a league-leading 2.31 blocks per set. Erin Fairs leads the Bulls offense with 340 kills to average 3.82 per set. She also leads USF with 318 digs (3.57 per set) and 27 service aces (0.30 per set). Jennica Mullins is the team-leader at the net with 106 total blocks to average 1.20 per set. She has also posted 117 kills (1.33 per set). Natalia Soares and Alex Mendoza share time at setter as Soares averages 5.69 assists per set, while Mendoza averages 4.76.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 2,541 assists in her career to rank third in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 670 assists this season to average 8.59 per set. 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.
A Time to Kill
Sophomore Sydney Darden is the team leader in kills with 212. She is averaging 2.83 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in 11 matches this year. She has notched 10 double-doubles for East Carolina this season. Darden has helped the Pirates average 11.84 kills per set this year while hitting .197 as a team.
Setting the Standard
Senior Zarah Cecich leads East Carolina in assists with an average of 8.59 per set after dishing out 670 this season. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 2,541 career assists to rank third 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 10.89 assists per set as sophomore setter Bella Borgiotti has also contributed to East Carolina's assist average with 58 assists of her own (1.49 per set).
Can You Dig It?
Junior libero Erika Figueroa is the Pirates' leader in digs this year as she has posted 229 in 79 sets to average 2.90 per set. Figueroa eclipsed her previous career-high of 20 digs in a single match on October 26 when she notched 33 in East Carolina's 3-2 loss against Memphis. Figueroa's 33 digs rank her second in the single-game record book and her total contributed to the Pirates' team total of 98 in the contest which ranks third best in the single-match annals. Her 229 digs have helped ECU's team average as the Pirates own 1,078 digs on the year for an average of 13.65 per set.
Block Party
Middle blockers Ashley McRae and Natalie Montini have been solid at the net for the Pirates this season. McRae owns 61 total blocks this year (5 solo blocks, 56 block assists) for an average of 0.78 per set. Montini has collected 34 total blocks (3 solo blocks, 31 block assists) for an average of 0.94 per set. As a team, the Pirates are averaging 1.85 blocks per set. ECU's opponents have been limited to putting up 1.40 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 welcome Houston and Tulane. The Pirates and the Cougars will face off on Friday, November 7 at 7 p.m. before hosting the Green Wave on Sunday, November 9 at 1 p.m. at Williams Arena inside Minges Coliseum. Live stats and video will be available on ECUPirates.com.
