Pirates Open Season with East Carolina Invitational
September 04, 2014 | Volleyball
| East Carolina Invitational | |
| Date | Friday, September 5 - Saturday, September 6 |
| Time | 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum) |
| Tournament Central | East Carolina Invitational |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  |
| Multimedia |  Season Preview |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The Pirates kick off the 2014 campaign with the East Carolina Invitational. The five-team tournament welcomes Tennessee Tech, Norfolk State, Morgan State and UNC Wilmington to Greenville, N.C. The Pirates will go head-to-head with the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech Friday, September 5 at 1 p.m., before closing out the first day of the tournament against the Norfolk State Spartans at 7 p.m. ECU will wrap up the tournament Saturday, September 6 at 7 p.m. when it plays host to the Morgan State Bears.
The Series vs. Tennessee Tech
The Pirates and the Golden Eagles will meet for the fourth time in program history and Tennessee Tech leads the all-time series 2-1. The last time the two teams met, East Carolina swept Tennessee Tech, 3-0 [30-20, 30-27, 30-23], on September 3, 2005 at a tournament hosted by Appalachian State. The Golden Eagles won the first two contest against the Pirates and ECU is looking to even the series with a win Friday.
The Series vs. Norfolk State
East Carolina and Norfolk State will face off for the third time in program history when they square off Friday. The Pirates lead the all-time series 2-0. In their last meeting, East Carolina swept the Spartans, 3-0 [25-14, 25-21, 25-18], on September 5, 2009 at the Hawthorne Suites Hokie Invitational. The Spartans are looking for their first win against the Pirates in program history.
The Series vs. Morgan State
ECU and Morgan State will go head-to-head for the seventh time in program history on Saturday. East Carolina holds the lead, 4-2, in the all-time series. Most recently, the Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Bears at the East Carolina Classic last September. In that contest, ECU took the sets by scores of 25-14, 27-25, 26-24. Morgan State is looking for its first win over the Pirates since 1999 when the Bears defeated the Pirates, 3-1 [15-11, 11-15, 13-15, 3-15].
2013 Season in Review
East Carolina is coming off of a 13-19 (3-11 C-USA) season which marks the Pirates' most successful year since 2008. In her first year at the helm, head coach Julie Torbett helped ECU record more than six times the number of wins from the previous season. Her Pirates compiled a five-match winning streak which was the first time ECU accomplished that feat in five years. East Carolina concluded the 2013 campaign with senior opposite Nicole Willis earning Second Team All-Conference USA accolades marking ECU's first all-conference volleyball selection since 2007.
About the Pirates
ECU opens the 2014 season hosting the East Carolina Invitational. The Pirates return seven players from last year and welcome eight new faces to the court. Setter Zarah Cecich returns as the lone senior on the squad. She is currently ranked seventh all-time in career assists with a total of 1,871. Junior outside hitter Torre Blake will also be back on the court after finishing her sophomore season with 197 kills for an average of 1.88 per set to rank third on the team. Defensively, junior Erika Figueroa will see some playing time after concluding 2013 with 203 digs (2.07 per set) to finish fourth on the squad. Helping Figueroa in the back row is junior transfer Lauren Bewick. The local product of D.H. Conley High School comes back to Greenville after spending the last two years as Campbell's starting libero. The Winterville, N.C., native recorded 230 digs to average 1.85 per set for the Camels last season.
Scouting the Golden Eagles
Tennessee Tech is looking for its first win of the 2014 season after going 0-3 last weekend at the Appalachian State Tournament. The Golden Eagles dropped three straight sweeps to Tennessee, Appalachian State and Cleveland State. Over the three matches, Cody Dodd recorded 20 kills to average 2.22 per set, while adding 18 digs (2.00 per set). She also contributed a team-best seven total blocks for an average of 0.78 per set. Sharon Anderson paced the offense with 61 assists as she dished out 6.78 assists per set over the three matches. Defensively, the Golden Eagles were led by Courtney Smith who finished the weekend with 32 digs to average 3.56 per set.
Scouting the Spartans
Norfolk State comes into the East Carolina Invitational with an 0-3 record after dropping three matches at the James Madison Classic last weekend. The Spartans were swept by the hosts and Villanova, before dropping a 3-1 decision to Charleston Southern to close out the tournament. Throughout the weekend, the Spartans were led offensively by Hope Forsythe and Jessica Johnson as the duo combined for 63 kills. Forsythe registered 32 kills to average 3.20 per set, while Johnson knocked down 31 for an average of 3.10 per set. Setter Darcy Moore tallied 91 assists to average 9.10 assists per set, while adding 29 digs (2.90 per set). Noelle Eagles set the tone for the defense with 38 digs as she averaged 3.80 digs per set to go along with 10 assists (1.00 per set).
Scouting the Bears
Morgan State brings a 1-3 record into Minges Coliseum for the East Carolina Invitational this weekend. The Bears opened the year at the Charlotte Invitational where they were swept by East Tennessee State and dropped a pair of 3-1 contests to Charlotte and UNC Greensboro. Their only victory came at the hands of Sacramento State where the Bears won in four sets [25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23]. Arianna Hayden and Evely Macedo each recorded 37 kills in the four matches to average 2.47 kills per set. Macedo added 33 digs (2.70 per set), five assists (0.33 per set) and four total blocks (0.27), while Hayden posted 24 digs (1.60 per set), six total blocks (0.40 per set) and three service aces. Carmen Fernandez set the tone for the offense with 140 assists to average 9.33 per set. She also contributed 37 digs to average 2.47 per set. Minja Rankov led the defense with 51 digs (3.40 per set), while adding 14 assists (0.93 per set) for the Bears.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 1,871 assists in her career to rank seventh in East Carolina's all-time record book. She notched 839 assists in 2013 including a season-high 55 at Appalachian State. Cecich is 77 assists away from moving into sixth place.
ECU in Season Openers
Since the program's inception in 1977, the East Carolina volleyball team has put together a 16-21 record in season openers. During the Pirates' inaugural season, they defeated UNC Greensboro, 3-2, to kick off the year. Most recently, ECU was swept at Wake Forest in 2013. This season, the Pirates will be looking for their first season-opening victory since they defeated Gardner-Webb, 3-1, in 2011.
About the Newcomers
East Carolina welcomes eight newcomers to Greenville for the 2014 season including three transfers and five freshmen. Lauren Bewick is a junior transfer from Campbell who previous played at D.H. Conley High School. The local product was the starting libero for the Camels and finished the year with 230 digs to average 1.85 per set. Sydney Darden is a sophomore transfer who comes to ECU after playing her freshman year at UNC Greensboro. Darden is an outside hitter who was third on the Spartans with 2.33 kills per set after knocking down 121 kills. Aileen Hnatiuk is an incoming freshman out of Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School (Fla.) where she was a three-year letterwinner and tallied 352 kills with 120 blocks her senior year. Freshman Alex Jessett is a defensive specialist and libero from Seven Lakes High School (Texas) where she competed for the Houston Juniors Club Team. She was named the Defensive MVP in 2011 and qualified for USAJ Junior Nationals in 2011 and 2013. Alex Johnson is the final transfer in the 2014 signing class. She played two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho and finished her sophomore year with 35 kills, 11 total blocks, eight digs and two assists. Ashton Mares is a four-year letterwinner out of Rocky Mountain High School (Colo.) where she was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection. In her senior season, she knocked down 369 kills with a hitting percentage of .340. Freshman middle blocker Natalie Montini comes to ECU after playing four years at Reynolds High School (N.C.) where she was named MAC Player of the Year. The final addition to the Pirates is Megan Williams who joined the team in early August after an open tryout. The freshman defensive specialist was a three-year letterwinner at Durham School of the Arts where she earned All-Conference honors as a senior and was a two-time MVP.
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 the East Carolina Invitational, the Pirates will play host to North Carolina A&T Tuesday, September 9, at 7 p.m., in Minges Coliseum. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
