East Carolina Hosts North Carolina A&T
September 08, 2014 | Volleyball
| Match 4: East Carolina vs. North Carolina A&T | |
| Date | Tuesday, September 9 |
| Time | 7 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum) |
| Match Notes | East Carolina  |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina plays host to the Aggies of North Carolina A&T during a mid-week, non-conference contest Tuesday, September 9, at 7 p.m. at Minges Coliseum. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free T-shirt.
The Series vs. North Carolina A&T
The Pirates and the Aggies will meet for the 18th time in program history and East Carolina leads the all-time series 13-4. The last time the two teams met, East Carolina swept North Carolina A&T, 3-0 [25-11, 25-20, 25-14], on November 5, 2013. North Carolina A&T is looking for its first win over the Pirates since 2003 when the Aggies defeated ECU, 3-1 [33-31,34-36, 27-30, 22-30].
Last Time Out
East Carolina opened the year with a 3-0 record at the East Carolina Invitational last weekend. The Pirates and UNC Wilmington both went undefeated and came out co-champions of the tournament. ECU swept Tennessee Tech and Norfolk State on day one, before edging Morgan State in five sets on the final day of the tournament. The Pirates were led by sophomore outside hitter Sydney Darden who finished the weekend with 35 kills to average 3.18 per set. She added as many digs, while posting five blocks and five service aces. Darden tallied a pair of double-doubles in three matches. Senior setter Zarah Cecich, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, averaged 7.64 assists per set after dishing out 84 assists. She also contributed 15 kills, 11 digs, five blocks and four aces. Junior Kierra Lee-Dunson, who also earned an All-Tournament Team nod, posted 14 total blocks, while sophomore Ashley McRae added 11 at the net.
About the Pirates
ECU began the season with a 3-0 mark for the first time in six years. The Pirates are off to a hot start as they collected co-champion honors at the East Carolina Invitational over the weekend. As a team, East Carolina is hitting .259, while limiting opponents to a .124 attack percentage. The Pirates are averaging 10.9 kills per set, 9.5 assists per set, 2.2 service aces per set, 10.8 digs per set, and 2.4 blocks per set. ECU lead the American opponent hitting (.124) as well as aces per set (2.18). Sophomore Sydney Darden and freshman Ashton Mares lead the ECU offense as Darden knocked down a team-leading 35 kills and Mares added 32. Darden is also the team leader in digs with 35 to average 3.18 per set. At the net, junior middle blocker Kierra Lee-Dunson is averaging 1.27 blocks per set after recording 14 blocks in three matches. Senior setter Zarah Cecich sets the tone for the offense as she has collected 84 assists for an average of 7.64 per set.
Scouting the Aggies
North Carolina A&T is looking for its first win of 2014 after opening the season with an 0-7 record. The Aggies own a hitting percentage of .069 and average 9.0 kills per set. The defense has allowed its opponents to hit .230 while averaging 13.1 kills per set. Te'Borah Hawkins is the Aggies leader in kills with 55 to average 2.20 per set. Hawkins also leads the squad with 10 total blocks. Aleena McDaniel has accumulated 54 kills and averages 2.35 per set. Liz Martino has been solid at setter and has dished out 177 assists for an average of 7.08 assists per set. Defensively, Ashley Johnson leads the Aggies with 92 digs to average 3.68 per set.
Movin' on Up
Senior setter Zarah Cecich has registered a total of 1,955 assists in her career to rank sixth in East Carolina's all-time record book. She notched 84 assists during the Pirates' opening weekend including a season-high 32 versus Morgan State. Cecich is 68 assists away from moving into fifth place.
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.
A Time to Kill
Sophomore Sydney Darden is the team leader in kills with 35. She is averaging 3.18 per set after leading the Pirates in kills in two out of three matches. She notched a pair of double-doubles over the weekend and hit .198. Freshman Ashton Mares is hot on Darden's heels as she own 32 kills to average .291 per set. Her attack percentage is .231.
Setting the Bar
Senior Zarah Cecich leads East Carolina in assists with an average of 7.64 per set after dishing out 84 over the weekend. Cecich is the lone senior on the squad and has accumulated 1,955 career assists to rank sixth all-time. She recorded a season-best 32 against Morgan State last Saturday to help ECU capture a 3-2 win over the Bears.
Can You Dig It?
Sydney Darden owns a team-best 35 digs to average 3.18 per set. She tallied a career-high 17 digs against Morgan State last Saturday as she helped guide East Carolina to a 3-2 win over the Bears. Junior libero Lauren Bewick is second on the team in digs with 23 to average 2.09 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 combined for 25 total blocks in three matches. Lee-Dunson owns a team-best 14 to average 1.27 per set, while McRae adds 11 for an average of 1.00 per set.
ECU in Season Openers
Since the program's inception in 1977, the East Carolina volleyball team has put together a 17-21 record in season openers. During the Pirates' inaugural season, they defeated UNC Greensboro, 3-2, to kick off the year. Most recently, ECU swept Tennessee Tech at the East Carolina Invitational. The season-opening victory marked the Pirates' first such win 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 East Carolina's contest against North Carolina A&T, the Pirates have a 10-day hiatus until their next match. ECU will return to action at the Penn State Invitational against Eastern Illinois on Friday, September 19 at 9 a.m. The Pirates will also go head-to-head with UIC at 1 p.m., before taking on DePaul and Penn State on the final day of the tournament on Saturday, September 20. The Pirates and the Blue Demons will meet at 2 p.m., before ECU goes up against the Nittany Lions at 7:30 p.m.
