East Carolina University
Norfolk State
Pirates Sweep First Day of East Carolina Invitational
September 05, 2014 | Volleyball
ECU0Tennessee Tech Box Score 
| ECU-Norfolk State Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The Pirate volleyball team opened the 2014 season with a pair of sweeps over Tennessee Tech and Norfolk State at the East Carolina Invitational. The two wins marked the first time in six years that the Pirates won two back-to-back contests to open the season.
"I am proud of the team and how they came out in the first set of the first match," Head Coach Julie Torbett said. "We were aggressive and solid throughout. We had moments later on in the match that showed we have work to do, but we certainly controlled the tempo. It always feels good to win on opening day."
ECU (2-0) came out swinging as sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden set the offensive tone throughout the day. She registered a double-double (12 kills, 14 digs) in the first match against the Golden Eagles (0-4) and came back against the Spartans (0-5) to knock down another 11 kills to lead the Pirates. Senior setter Zarah Cecich paced the squad as she dished out 28 assists in the first contest and 24 in the second.
The Pirates took control of the match against Tennessee Tech early on as they opened the frame with a 2-0 lead. With Lauren Bewick serving, ECU went on a 9-0 run to extend its advantage to 10 (12-2). The Golden Eagles were never able to recover from the large deficit and Pirates cruised to a 25-11 set win after hitting .471 as a team and forcing the Eagles to hit -.042.
The second set saw East Carolina go on an early 5-0 run jump ahead, 5-1, on Tennessee Tech. Although the Golden Eagles tried to battle back, the Pirates led throughout the set as they hit .200 as a team with 15 kills. The ECU defense was solid as it held the Golden Eagles to just .027 hitting. The Pirates went on to claim the second game, 25-18.
East Carolina completed the sweep of Tennessee Tech after taking a fast 3-0 lead and never looking back. The Golden Eagles trailed the entire set and ECU knocked down 16 kills to win by a score of 25-20.
In addition to Darden's 12 kills, freshman Ashton Mares added nine, while Cecich contributed six on seven attempts without committing an error to hit .857 in the match.
In the contest, the Pirates recorded 39 kills and hit .253, while the defense limited the Golden Eagles to a .073 clip. The Pirates finished the match with 32 assists, 45 digs and 4.0 total team blocks.
East Carolina carried the momentum from the first match into the second as the Pirates returned to the court and swept Norfolk State [25-11, 25-23, 25-13].
Early in the first set, the Pirates and Spartans battled between half-a-dozen ties as they found themselves knotted at 6-6. Mares broke the tie with a kill and the Pirates soared from there. Junior defensive specialist Erika Figueroa put the game out of reach as she helped ECU to nine straight points during her time as server. The Pirates hit .545 in the frame and held the Spartans to .036 hitting as East Carolina went on to win 25-11.
Norfolk State made the second set a much closer contest as the Pirates and Spartans exchanged leads six times and fought through 12 ties. With the score even at 23-all, East Carolina capitalized on a Norfolk State attack error to take it to set-point. Cecich closed the book on the set with a service ace to give the Pirates a 25-23 victory.
ECU managed to earn its second sweep of the day as the Pirates hit .500 after collecting 15 kills in the third set. Norfolk State's offense struggled as it put together a .037 hitting percentage with eight kills in the contest. The Pirates grabbed a 5-0 lead on serves from Figueroa and pushed their lead to 10 (16-6) after four consecutive kills. East Carolina went on to secure a 25-13 win to complete the sweep.
Against Norfolk State, the Pirates were led by Darden and Mares who notched 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Middle blockers Kierra Lee-Dunson and Ashley McRae dominated the net as Lee-Dunson put up three solo blocks and a block assist while McRae added seven block assists.
As a team, East Carolina hit .329 in the match and held the Spartans to .087 hitting. The Pirates finished the contest with 33 kills, 28 assists, 30 digs and 11.0 total team blocks.
"I am happy to be 2-0," Torbett said. "We showed our competitive spirit and were very feisty."
The Pirates will wrap up the East Carolina Invitational Saturday, September 6 against Morgan State at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
