East Carolina Hosts Tulane in Sunday Afternoon Contest
November 08, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 24: ECU vs. Tulane | |
| Date | Sunday, November 9 |
| Time | 1:00 p.m. (EST) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Video |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina welcomes Tulane to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for a Sunday afternoon contest. The Pirates and Green Wave will meet on November 9 at 1 p.m. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive five free wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. The contest is High School and Middle School day as well as Girl Scout Day and Faith and Family Day.
The Series vs. Tulane
The Pirates and the Green Wave will meet for the 17th time in program history and Tulane leads the all-time series 15-1. East Carolina is looking for its first victory over the Green Wave since 2012 when ECU defeated Tulane, 3-1 [25-20, 14-25, 25-19, 25-14] on Senior Day at Minges Coliseum. Earlier this year, the Pirates dropped a 3-1 decision to the Green Wave in New Orleans, La., last month.
Last Time Out
East Carolina dropped a five set decision to Houston Friday night at Minges Coliseum. Houston won the first set, but that did not deter the Pirates as they came back and evened the slate with a 25-23 victory in set two. East Carolina claimed the third set, but the Cougars bounded back and won the final two to put the match away. Despite the loss, the Pirates turned in several strong performances as Ashton Mares led the team with 19 kills, while adding 13 digs for a double-double. Sydney Darden also notched a double-double with 16 kills and 18 digs. Erika Figueroa tied her career-high with 33 digs which is also good for second in the ECU single-game record book. Zarah Cecich dished out 48 assists to go along with five digs, three kills and one block assist. Ashley McRae hit a team-leading .615 after knocking down nine kills on 13 attempts with just one attack error. East Carolina kept the match close as the first three sets were decided by two points. ECU had its best offensive output during the third set when it hit .261 with 16 kills. In that frame, the Cougars hit .229 and it was the only set in which the Pirates out-hit Houston. ECU finished the contest with a .154 attack percentage and 56 kills. ECU held the edge on defense as the Pirates posted 82 digs to Houston's 75, while posting 0.9 team blocks to the Cougars' 7.0.
About the Pirates
East Carolina has compiled an 11-12 overall record and a 3-10 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 looking to get back on the winning track after dropping their last three contests to UCF (0-3), USF (1-3) and Houston (2-3). As a team, ECU is hitting .191 on the year with 1034 kills for an average of 11.75 per set. ECU's assists average sits just under 11 at 10.83 per set, while the Pirates have notched 1228 digs (13.95 per set) and 162.5 total blocks (1.85 per set). Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden leads the team in kills with 236 for an average of 2.81 per set. She also contributes 233 digs (2.77 per set), 33 total blocks (0.39 per set), 35 assists (0.42 per set) and 16 service aces (0.19 per set). Senior setter Zarah Cecich has paced the offense with 747 assists to average 8.59 per set. Cecich has added 160 digs (1.84 per set), 104 kills (1.20 per set), 36 total blocks (0.41 per set) and 19 aces (0.22 per set), while hitting .335. Defensively, junior libero Erika Figueroa owns a team-leading 284 digs while averaging 3.23 per set. She has also posted 52 assists (0.59 per set) and 16 aces (0.18 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 (63) after accumulating five solo blocks and 58 block assists. She owns 191 kills on 372 attempts with 52 attack errors. McRae's blocks per set average of 0.72 is second on the team only to freshman middle blocker Natalie Montini, who has put up 44 total blocks (six solo blocks and 38 block assists) for an average of 0.98 per set.
Scouting the Green Wave
Tulane comes to Williams Arena inside Minges Coliseum as the last place team in the American Conference with a 5-20 overall record and a 3-10 league mark. The Green Wave is looking to snap a six-match losing streak which dates back to October 17, when they defeated UConn, 3-2, in New Orleans, La. Tulane has not won a road match this season as it has compiled an 0-9 away record. The Green Wave is struggling offensively with a .150 attack percentage while averaging 11.00 kills per set. They own a 10.38 assists per set average and have dished out 1302 digs for an average of 14.47 per set. Sarah Ray and Tea Juric lead the Green Wave with 277 and 243 kills, respectively. Ray averages 3.08 kills per set to go along with 2.49 digs per set and 0.67 blocks per set. Juric's average of 2.90 digs per set leads the squad while she also contributes 0.51 blocks per set. Ally Frank and Lauren Etta share setter responsibilities as the duo have combined for 836 assists. Frank leads the team with an 8.44 assists average, while Etta owns a 7.21 assists per set mark.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 2,618 assists in her career to rank third in East Carolina's all-time record book. She has dished out 747 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. 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 236. She is averaging 2.81 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in 11 matches this year. She has notched 11 double-doubles for East Carolina this season. Darden has helped the Pirates average 11.75 kills per set this year while hitting .191 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 747 this season. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 2,618 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 10.83 assists per set as sophomore setter Bella Borgiotti has also contributed to East Carolina's assist average with 58 assists of her own (1.32 per set).
Can You Dig It?
Junior libero Erika Figueroa is the Pirates' leader in digs this year as she has posted 284 in 88 sets to average 3.23 per set. Figueroa has recorded a career-best 33 digs on two occasions this season. Figueroa's 33 digs rank her second in the single-game record book. Her 284 digs have helped ECU's team average as the Pirates own 1,228 digs on the year for an average of 13.95 per set.
Block Party
Middle blockers Ashley McRae and Natalie Montini have been solid at the net for the Pirates this season. McRae owns 63 total blocks this year (5 solo blocks, 58 block assists) for an average of 0.72 per set. Montini has collected 44 total blocks (6 solo blocks, 38 block assists) for an average of 0.98 per set. As a team, the Pirates are averaging 1.85 blocks per set. ECU's opponents have been limited to putting up 1.43 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 takes a break from American Conference action as the Pirates travel to Princess Anne, Md., to take on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in a non-conference, mid-week contest on Tuesday, November 11. First serve is set for 5:30 p.m. Earlier this season, the Pirates swept the Hawks at Minges Coliseum by set scores of 25-17, 25-11, 25-20. Live stats for Tuesday's match will be available on ECUPirates.com. Following the Pirates contest at UMES, ECU will travel to Temple for a Friday, November 14 match-up before taking on UConn in Storrs, Connecticut on Sunday, November 16.
