East Carolina Continues Road Swing at Memphis
November 20, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 28: ECU at Memphis | |
| Date | Friday, November 21 |
| Time | 8:00 p.m. (EST) |
| Location | Memphis, Tenn. |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina continues its longest road swing of the season as the Pirates head to Memphis, Tenn., to take on the Tigers on Friday, November 21. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
The Series vs. Memphis
The Pirates and the Tigers will meet for 22nd time in program history. Memphis owns an 18-3 advantage in the all-time series over East Carolina. Last month, the Tigers held on to defeat ECU, 3-2, in Greenville, N.C., on October 26. The Pirates are looking for their first win over Memphis since 2006 when East Carolina won in four sets at Minges Coliseum.
Last Time Out
Junior libero Erika Figueroa tied the single-game record for most digs in a match when she collected 34 in East Carolina's 3-2 victory over UConn Sunday afternoon. Figueroa's 34 digs is a new career-high for the Orlando, Fla., native. She also has tied former Pirate Shelby Beasley for the most digs in a single match to rank first in the ECU record books. Figueroa paced the ECU defense as she helped limit UConn to just .179 hitting in the contest. In addition to Figueroa's record-setting performance, the Pirates received strong showings from Ashton Mares, Zarah Cecich and Natalie Montini. Mares led the offense with 14 kills while adding a career-best 22 digs for a double-double. She also contributed two assists and a pair of aces while hitting .238. Cecich dished out 43 assists to go along with seven digs, seven kills, two block assists and one ace. She turned in a team-best .636 attack percentage. Montini led the Pirates at the net with five total blocks and she also posted nine kills with a .261 hitting percentage. ECU and UConn each notched 15 kills in the first set while battling through eight ties and three lead changes. The Pirates stayed close on the Huskies' heels throughout the frame before winning the set, 27-25. The second set was close in the early part of the game, but UConn broke a 6-6 tie and took a 12-7 lead and never looked back. UConn went on to win by a score of 25-19. The Pirates started the third set with a 10-4 lead after knocking down seven straight points. ECU held a comfortable lead and kept the Huskies at a distance as the Pirates went on to win 25-21. Leading the Huskies 2-1, the Pirates faltered in the fourth set as they hit .143 to UConn's .267. The Huskies opened up an early 7-2 lead and would never relinquish it as they defeated ECU, 25-18. East Carolina would not be denied as the Pirates kicked off the fifth set with a 7-1 advantage forcing a UConn timeout. The Pirates extended their lead to five (14-9) at match-point, but UConn refused to quit as the Huskies knocked down three more points to make it 14-12. Ashley McRae put the game and match away with a kill to give the Pirates a 15-12 victory.
About the Pirates
East Carolina has compiled a 14-13 overall record and a 5-11 mark in American Conference action. The Pirates have collected two more conference wins than they did last year and have tallied 14 wins for the first time since 2007. ECU has played well as of late winning three of its last four contests. As a team, the Pirates are hitting .193 on the year with 1232 kills for an average of 11.85 per set. East Carolina's assists average sits just under 11 at 10.94 per set, while the Pirates have notched 1,492 digs (14.35 per set) and 189.5 total blocks (1.82 per set). Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden leads the team in kills with 280 for an average of 2.80 per set. She also contributes 271 digs (2.71 per set), 37 total blocks (0.37 per set), 37 assists (0.37 per set) and 26 service aces (0.26 per set). Senior setter Zarah Cecich has paced the offense with 904 assists to average 8.78 per set to rank sixth in the American Conference. Cecich has added 199 digs (1.93 per set), 118 kills (1.15 per set), 46 total blocks (0.45 per set) and 23 aces (0.22 per set), while hitting .347. Defensively, junior libero Erika Figueroa owns a team-leading 372 digs while averaging 3.58 per set. She has also posted 60 assists (0.58 per set) and 19 aces (0.18 per set). Sophomore middle blocker Ashley McRae is ECU's leader in attack percentage (.355), which ranks her fourth in the American. She also leads the Pirates in total blocks (73) after accumulating seven solo blocks and 66 block assists to average 0.71 per set. She owns 221 kills on 442 attempts with 64 attack errors. McRae's blocks per set average is second on the team only to freshman middle blocker Natalie Montini, who has put up 60 total blocks (eight solo blocks and 52 block assists) for an average of 0.98 per set.
Scouting the Tigers
Memphis owns a 22-9 overall record and is 12-5 in the American Athletic Conference to place third in league standings. The Tigers have won their last three matches against Houston (3-0), Tulane (3-0) and Cincinnati (3-1) and have not lost a home match since dropping a 3-0 contest to Temple on October 31. The Memphis is 8-4 when playing inside Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The Tigers are hitting .208 with 13.19 kills per set on 12.48 assists per set. Memphis is a defensively strong team that leads the conference in digs per set (17.55) and opponent hitting percentage (.153). The Tigers have also accumulated 264.5 total team blocks to average 2.22 blocks per set to rank third in the league. Kate Gibson is the Tigers' offensive leader with 326 kills to average 2.79 kills per set. She also contributes 2.80 digs per set, 0.59 blocks per set and 389.0 points. Veronica Zimmerman is the Tigers' setter with 1259 assists for an average of 10.58 per set. She also adds 315 digs (2.65 per set) and 88 kills (0.74 per set). Aleksandra Petronijevic leads both Memphis and the American with 656 digs to average 5.51 per set. Also on defense, Alexis Wesley has put up 138 total blocks for an average of 1.16 per set.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 2,775 assists in her career to rank third in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 904 assists this season to average 8.78 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. Cecich has led the Pirates in assists in every single match this season.
A Time to Kill
Sophomore Sydney Darden is the team leader in kills with 280. She is averaging 2.80 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in 13 matches this year. She has notched 12 double-doubles for East Carolina this season. Darden has helped the Pirates average 11.85 kills per set this year while hitting .193 as a team.
Setting the Standard
Senior Zarah Cecich leads East Carolina in assists with an average of 8.78 per set after dishing out 904 this season. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 2,775 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 10.94 assists per set.
Can You Dig It?
Junior libero Erika Figueroa is the Pirates' leader in digs this year as she has posted 372 in 104 sets to average 3.58 per set. Figueroa recorded a career-best 34 digs at UConn to tie the ECU single-game record. Her 372 digs have helped ECU's team average as the Pirates own 1,492 digs on the year for an average of 14.35 per set.
Block Party
Middle blockers Ashley McRae and Natalie Montini have been solid at the net for the Pirates this season. McRae owns 73 total blocks this year (7 solo blocks, 66 block assists) for an average of 0.71 per set. Montini has collected 60 total blocks (8 solo blocks, 52 block assists) for an average of 0.98 per set. As a team, the Pirates are averaging 1.82 blocks per set. ECU's opponents have been limited to putting up 1.46 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 86 sets this season and owns 99 kills and 51 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 owns a .288 attack percentage, while Sierra has seen action in 11 sets thus far with eight total blocks. 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 wraps up its road swing at Cincinnati on Sunday, November 23 at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
