East Carolina Travels to Penn State Alumni Classic
September 17, 2014 | Volleyball
| Matches 5-8: Penn State Alumni Classic | |
| Dates | Friday, September 19 - Saturday, September 20 |
| Times | 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 7:30 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | State College, Pa. |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina hits the road for the first time this season as the Pirates head to State College, Pa., to take part in the Penn State Alumni Classic. ECU will go up against Eastern Illinois and UIC on Friday at 9 a.m., and 1 p.m., respectively. The Pirates will close out the tournament Saturday versus DePaul and No. 3 Penn State at 2 p.m., and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
The Matches
East Carolina hits the road for the first time this season as the Pirates head to State College, Pa., to take part in the Penn State Alumni Classic. ECU will go up against Eastern Illinois and UIC on Friday at 9 a.m., and 1 p.m., respectively. The Pirates will close out the tournament Saturday versus DePaul and No. 3 Penn State at 2 p.m., and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
The Series vs. Eastern Illinois
The Pirates and the Panthers will meet for the first time in program history. Eastern Illinois is part of the Ohio Valley Conference. East Carolina is 3-9 against the Ohio Valley Conference, with wins against Belmont and Tennessee Tech.
The Series vs. UIC
The Pirates and the Flames will meet for the first time in program history this weekend. UIC is a member of the Horizon League. East Carolina is 2-3 against the Horizon League as the Pirates have captured victories over Wright State and Green Bay.
The Series vs. DePaul
The Pirates and the Blue Demons will meet for the seventh time in program history. DePaul leads the all-time series 5-1. The Blue Demons went 5-0 in the first five encounters, but East Carolina held off DePaul, 3-2, in the last meeting on November 12, 2004.
The Series vs. No. 3 Penn State
The Pirates and the Nittany Lions will go head-to-head for the third time in program history. Saturday marks the first meeting between the two teams since 1981. Penn State holds a 2-0 advantage over East Carolina in the all-time series. The Nittany Lions swept ECU, 2-0, in their last meeting at the Maryland Invitational.
Last Time Out
East Carolina extended its winning streak to four after opening the year 4-0 with victories over Tennessee Tech (3-0), Norfolk State (3-0), Morgan State (3-2) and North Carolina A&T (3-0). In their most recent match, the Pirates swept the Aggies [25-10, 25-15, 25-18] on Tuesday, September 9. The contest was a team effort as all 15 Pirates saw action. Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden led the offensive attack with nine kills while hitting .350 in the contest. Zarah Cecich controlled the ball well as she tallied 30 assists to go along with four kills on six attempts for a .667 clip. Defensively, junior Erika Figueroa set the tone with a team-high nine digs, while freshman Alex Jessett added seven and junior Lauren Bewick posted six. As a team, the Pirates his .345 with 38 kills on 84 attempts with just nine errors. The ECU defense accumulated 39 digs and posted 3.0 team blocks.
About the Pirates
For the first time in six years, East Carolina opened the year with a 4-0 record. The Pirates are the only undefeated team in the American Conference and just one of 15 in the nation. ECU will also go into the Penn State Alumni Classic as the only squad with a perfect record. The Pirates lead the conference in hitting percentage with a .279 clip, which also ranks in the top 20 in the NCAA. East Carolina's .118 opponent attack percentage is also good for first in the league. ECU averages 2.07 service aces per set which leads the American and is eighth in the nation. Sophomore Ashley McRae leads the Pirates with a hitting percentage of .396 which ranks her fifth in the conference. Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden has knocked down 44 kills this year for an average of 3.14 per set which lists her in the top 10 in The American. Freshman Ashton Mares leads the league with 0.67 service aces per set. Her average is also good for sixth in the nation. Senior Zarah Cecich has tallied 114 assists in four matches to average 8.14 per set which puts her in eighth place in the conference.
Scouting the Panthers
Eastern Illinois is 5-4 on the year after going 1-2 at the South Dakota State Challenge last weekend. The Panthers defeated host, SDSU 3-0, but dropped contests to Iowa (0-3) and North Dakota (0-3). As team the Panthers are hitting .181, while allowing opponents a .194 hitting percentage. EIU averages 13.59 kills per set to go along with 12.88 assists per set, and 16.21 digs per set. Abby Saalfrank is the team's leader in kills with 130 for an average of 3.82 per set. She also adds 104 digs (3.04 per set), 13 total blocks (0.38 per set), eight service aces and seven assists. Marah Bradbury is the Panthers' setter as she has dished out 363 assists for an average of 10.68 per set. She has also contributed 76 digs (2.24 per set) and nine total blocks (0.26 per set). Defensively, Stephanie Wallace leads Eastern Illinois with 148 digs to average 4.35 per set. She has also posted 36 assists for an average of 1.06 per set.
Scouting the Flames
Illinois-Chicago (UIC) comes into the Penn State Alumni Classic with a 4-7 record after having dropped a pair of contests to Buffalo (1-3) and Western Illinois (2-3) last weekend. The Flames have collected wins over Chicago State (3-0), DePaul (3-1), Indiana (3-2) and Eastern Kentucky (3-1) thus far. UIC has knocked down 618 kills to average 14.05 per set while hitting .208 as a team. The Flames are also averaging 13.41 assists per set, 15.11 digs per set and 1.52 blocks per set. The Flames are led offensively by Stephenee Yancy who averages 3.89 kills per set. Yancy has also posted 30 total blocks for an average of 0.68 per set to rank second on the squad. Nicole Johnson paces the offense as the setter. She averages 12.14 assists per set after collecting 534 assists. Johnson has also contributed 95 digs (2.16 per set), 19 kills (0.43 per set), 11 service aces and five total blocks. Maggie Strus leads the UIC defense with 172 digs for an average of 3.91 per set. She has also posted 34 assists to average 0.77 per set.
Scouting the Blue Demons
DePaul has put together a 2-5 record this season. The Blue Demons have won matches over Bradley (3-1) and Chicago State (3-0). They are looking to get back on the winning track after falling to UIC (1-3) and IUPUI (0-3) in their last two matches. Despite only winning two matches thus far, the Blue Demons are hitting .221 as a team while averaging 12.1 kills per set. DePaul also averages 10.9 assists per set, 11.8 digs per set, 2.73 blocks per set and 1.65 service aces per set. Saige Gallop is the Blue Demons' offensive leader with 99 kills to average 3.81 per set. Defensively, Gallop adds 1.65 digs per set and 0.23 blocks per set. Colleen Smith is the DePaul setter as she has posted 230 assists for an average of 8.85 per set. Smith has also contributed 62 digs (2.38 per set), 28 kills (1.08 per set) and 20 total blocks (0.77 per set). Lexi Chanos averages 3.00 digs per set to lead the Blue Demons. She has also recorded 17 assists for an average of 0.65 assists per set.
Scouting the Nittany Lions
Reigning National Champion, No. 3 Penn State owns an 8-1 overall record this season with its only loss coming at then-No. 2 Stanford on September 5. The Nittany Lions are riding a five-match winning steak heading into the Penn State Alumni Classic after knocking off No. 24 Kansas and Yale last weekend in back-to-back sweeps. PSU owns a .361 hitting percentage which ranks second in the nation. The Nittany Lions also average 14.6 kills per set which is good for 12th in the NCAA and their assists per set average of 13.27 ranks 19th. The offensively charged Penn State also is solid defensively as the Nittany Lions average 12.50 digs per set and 2.27 blocks per set. Ali Frantti leads the team with 107 kills for an average of 3.57 per set. She also adds 44 digs (1.47 per set) and 16 total blocks (0.53 per set). Micha Hancock is the squad leader in assists with 347 to average 11.57. She leads the nation in aces per set as she averages 0.9 after tallying 27 service aces thus far. Hancock also contributes 54 digs (1.80 per set), 32 kills (1.07 per set) and 14 total blocks (0.47 per set). Defensively, Dominique Gonzalez leads Penn State with 110 digs to average 3.67 per set.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 1,985 assists in her career to rank sixth in East Carolina's all-time record book. She notched 30 assists during the Pirates' 3-0 sweep of North Carolina A&T on September 9. Cecich is 38 assists away from moving into fifth place.
A Time to Kill
Sophomore Sydney Darden is the team leader in kills with 44. She is averaging 3.14 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in three out of four matches. She notched a pair of double-doubles in East Carolina's opening weekend and hit .198. Freshman Ashton Mares is hot on Darden's heels as she own 33 kills to average 2.75 per set. Her attack percentage is .204.
Setting the Bar
Senior Zarah Cecich leads East Carolina in assists with an average of 8.14 per set after dishing out 114 in the Pirates' first four matches of the season. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 1,985 career assists to rank sixth all-time. She recorded a season-best 32 against Morgan State Saturday, September 6, to help ECU capture a 3-2 win over the Bears.
Can You Dig It?
Sydney Darden owns a team-best 40 digs to average 2.86 per set. She tallied a career-high 17 digs against Morgan State Saturday, September 6, as she helped guide East Carolina to a 3-2 win over the Bears. Junior defensive specialist Erika Figueroa is second on the squad with 30 digs for an average of 2.14 per set.
Block Party
Middle blockers Kierra Lee-Dunson and Ashley McRae have been solid at the net for the Pirates this season. The duo has combined for 28 total blocks in four matches. The pair have both posted 14 total blocks on the year, however McRae has averaged 1.08 blocks per set, while Lee-Dunson averages 1.00 as McRae has seen action in 13 sets and Lee-Dunson in 14.
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. 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.
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.
Coming Up
Following East Carolina's showing at the Penn State Alumni Classic, the Pirates return home to play host to UConn in their inaugural American Conference match Friday, September 26 at 7 p.m. The contest is in conjunction with the 1K Day Challenge as Pirate fans are encouraged to pack Minges Coliseum in an effort to reach the 1,000 fan mark in attendance to open conference action.
