ECU Concludes Road Trip at Cincinnati
November 22, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 29: ECU at Cincinnati | |
| Date | Sunday, November 23 |
| Time | 1:00 p.m. (EST) |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | | Video |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina wraps up its final road swing of the regular season with a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio to take on the Bearcats on Sunday, November 23 at 1 p.m.
The Series vs. Cincinnati
The Pirates and the Bearcats will meet for eighth time in program history. Cincinnati owns a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series as the Bearcats won the first six meetings. However, East Carolina held off Cincinnati, 3-2, last month in Greenville, N.C., to defeat the Bearcats for the first time in program history.
Last Time Out
The Pirates turned in three double-figure kill performances and a pair of double-doubles as East Carolina edged Memphis, 3-2, at Elma Roane Fieldhouse Friday night. East Carolina took Memphis to five sets and collected its first victory over the Tigers since 2006. The Pirates' offense was consistent throughout the match as ECU hit .217 in the contest with 61 kills. Memphis out-hit ECU with a .253 attack percentage, but East Carolina played a steady match and managed to defeat the third-ranked team in the conference by scores of 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 13-25, 15-11. The Pirates received strong performances from Erika Figueroa and Zarah Cecich once again. Figueroa paced the defense with a match-high 29 digs as she helped contribute to ECU's 73 total team digs. Cecich led East Carolina with 49 assists while adding six digs, six kills, one block assist and one service ace while hitting .294. Sydney Darden, Ashton Mares and Torre Blake led the offensive attack with double-figure kills. Darden and Mares recorded double-doubles with 14 kills and 14 digs each. Blake added to the Pirates' balanced offense with 10 kills while hitting .259. Ashley McRae, a sophomore middle hitter, registered another strong showing as she led the Pirates with a .368 attack percentage after notching nine kills on 19 attempts with just two errors. The Pirates hit .231 in the first set and slammed 13 kills while owning a 68-percent sideout margin. ECU jumped out in front early on and extended its lead to 10-5 before going on to win, 25-19. The Tigers owned the second set as they hit .444 with 13 kills while limiting ECU to a .200 hitting percentage. The Pirates tallied one more kill in the frame (14) than the Tigers, however they could not overcome seven attack errors while the Tigers committed only one miscue on their way to a 25-19 set win. The intermission found the conference foes deadlocked at one set apiece as ECU came out in the third set and hit .225 while the Pirate defense held Memphis to just .143. The Pirates and Tigers fought through 12 ties and four lead changes before ECU came out on top, 25-22. Leading two sets to one, the Pirates posted 11 kills in the fourth frame, but it wasn't enough as Memphis collected 16 kills with just two attack errors to hit a match-high .483 as the Tigers claimed the fourth set, 25-13. East Carolina, which owns a 6-3 record in five-set matches, came out swinging as the Pirates took a 10-4 advantage over the Tigers en route to cruising to a 15-11 victory.
About the Pirates
East Carolina has compiled a 15-13 overall record and a 6-11 mark in American Conference action. The Pirates have won four out of their last five contests. The 15 victories and six conference wins are the most ECU has accumulated in a single season since 2007. As a team, the Pirates are hitting .194 on the year with 1293 kills for an average of 11.86 per set. East Carolina's assists average sits just under 11 at 10.96 per set, while the Pirates have notched 1,565 digs (14.36 per set) and 195.5 total blocks (1.79 per set). Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden leads the team in kills with 294 for an average of 2.80 per set. She also contributes 285 digs (2.71 per set), 39 total blocks (0.37 per set), 38 assists (0.36 per set) and 26 service aces (0.25 per set). Senior setter Zarah Cecich has paced the offense with 953 assists to average 8.82 per set to rank sixth in the American Conference. Cecich has added 205 digs (1.90 per set), 124 kills (1.15 per set), 47 total blocks (0.44 per set) and 24 aces (0.22 per set), while hitting .344. Defensively, junior libero Erika Figueroa owns a team-leading 401 digs while averaging 3.68 per set. She has also posted 64 assists (0.59 per set) and 20 aces (0.18 per set). Sophomore middle blocker Ashley McRae is ECU's leader in attack percentage (.356), which ranks her fourth in the American. She also leads the Pirates in total blocks (75) after accumulating seven solo blocks and 68 block assists to average 0.69 per set. She owns 230 kills on 461 attempts with 66 attack errors. McRae's blocks per set average is second on the team only to freshman middle blocker Natalie Montini, who has put up 64 total blocks (eight solo blocks and 56 block assists) for an average of 0.97 per set.
Scouting the Bearcats
Cincinnati owns a 14-15 overall record and is 6-11 in the American Athletic Conference. The Bearcats have struggled as of late dropping nine of their last ten matches defeating only Tulane (3-1) since mid-October. As a team, Cincinnati is hitting .208 with 12.88 kills per set. The Bearcats' offense has been paced by 11.96 assists per set, while the defense averages 15.53 digs per set and 2.07 blocks per set. Emma Roberson leads Cincinnati's offense with 391 kills for an average of 3.46 per set. She also adds 56 total blocks to go along with 54 digs while hitting .274. The Bearcats rotate between two setters as Caitlin Ogletree (7.61 assists per set) and Madi Lang (5.82 assists per set) share duties. Jamie Netisingha leads the Bearcats' defense with 519 digs to average 4.59 per set. She also contributes 1.21 assists per set. Me'Asha Nicholson has been solid at the net for the Bearcats this season as she has posted 104 total blocks to average 0.95 per set.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 2,824 assists in her career to rank third in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 953 assists this season to average 8.82 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, Pa. 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 294. She is averaging 2.80 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in 14 matches this year. She has notched 13 double-doubles for East Carolina this season. Darden has helped the Pirates average 11.86 kills per set this year while hitting .194 as a team.
Setting the Standard
Senior Zarah Cecich leads East Carolina in assists with an average of 8.82 per set after dishing out 953 this season. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 2,824 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 10.96 assists per set.
Can You Dig It?
Junior libero Erika Figueroa is the Pirates' leader in digs this year as she has posted 401 in 109 sets to average 3.68 per set. Figueroa recorded a career-best 34 digs at UConn to tie the ECU single-game record. Her 401 digs have helped ECU's team average as the Pirates own 1,565 digs on the year for an average of 14.36 per set.
Block Party
Middle blockers Ashley McRae and Natalie Montini have been solid at the net for the Pirates this season. McRae owns 75 total blocks this year (7 solo blocks, 68 block assists) for an average of 0.69 per set. Montini has collected 64 total blocks (8 solo blocks, 56 block assists) for an average of 0.97 per set. As a team, the Pirates are averaging 1.79 blocks per set. ECU's opponents have been limited to putting up 1.44 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 91 sets this season and owns 109 kills and 52 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 returns to Greenville, N.C., to close out the regular season with matches against SMU and Tulsa on Friday, November 28 and Saturday, November 29, respectively. Friday's match is slated for 1 p.m., while Saturday's match is set for 2 p.m. Senior Zarah Cecich will be honored on Saturday during the post-game senior day ceremonies.
