ECU Volleyball Set to Host Tulane and Houston
October 08, 2015 | Volleyball
| Match 16:Tulane at East Carolina | |
| Date | Friday, Oct. 9 |
| Time | 7 p.m. (ET) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
| @ECUScoreboard | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina hosts American Athletic Conference foes Tulane and Houston this weekend, as it welcomes the Green Wave on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Cougars on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for both matches.
The Series vs. Tulane
East Carolina and Tulane will meet for the 18th time in program history and the Green Wave leads the Pirates in the all-time series 15-2. The Pirates split the season series with Tulane last year posting a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-13) win inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. After losing the first 13 matches in the series, East Carolina is 2-2 in the last four meetings with the Green Wave.
The Series vs. Houston
The Pirates and Cougars will also meet for the 18th time in series history Sunday with Houston holding the same 15-2 advantage. ECU snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Cougars last year with a 3-2 (14-25, 15-25, 25-18, 29-27, 15-13) win, rallying from a 2-0 deficit for its first-ever American Athletic Conference win.
Last Time Out
The Pirates played a strong match behind a pair of double-doubles from Ashton Mares and Sabrina Gonzalez, while Erika Figueroa tallied 31 digs, but the ECU came up just short in a 3-2 [25-23, 20-25, 10-25, 25-19, 11-15] loss at Tulsa. Lee-Dunson and Mares led the offense with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Mares added 15 digs, while Lee-Dunson posted eight block assists and turned in a .379 attack percentage. Gonzalez was solid at setter with her sixth double-double of the season after dishing out 37 assists and 16 digs. She also recorded seven total blocks and three kills. Figueroa continued her strong defensive game as she registered 31 digs and now ranks fifth in the ECU single-game record book. Helping Figueroa out in the back row was defensive specialist Lauren Bewick who notched 12 digs to help contribute to a team total of 90 digs in the contest. East Carolina held the edge on defense with 15.0 total team blocks and 90 digs. However, Tulsa led the Pirates in offensive categories as the Golden Hurricane posted 67 kills, 62 assists and 10 service aces, while ECU tallied 51 kills, 44 assists and four aces, but only committed a pair of service errors.
About the Pirates
The Pirates will look to even up its conference record this weekend with a pair of home games after playing its first four league games on the road. They enter Friday night's game against Tulane at 8-7 overall and 1-3 in The American. As a team, ECU is hitting. 204 with 12.1 kills per set on 11.0 assists per game. The Pirates lead their opponents in kills per set, service aces per set, digs per sets and blocks per set. Defensively, ECU has posted an average of 15.2 digs per game in the back row, while recording 1.8 blocks per set at the net. Ashton Mares, a sophomore outside hitter, leads the squad offensively with 165 kills and is averaging almost three kills per set with 2.95. Mares also adds 2.11 digs per set and 0.30 blocks per set. Senior libero Erika Figueroa has led the Pirates on defense this season. Figueroa's 287 digs this ranks fourth in The American, while her 5.04 digs per set average is third. Sabrina Gonzalez has set the tone for the ECU offense with 530 assists to average 9.30 helpers per set. The junior setter has also dished out 132 digs (2.32 per set), 45 kills and 29 total blocks on the year.
Scouting the Green Wave
Tulane owns a 7-10 overall record and is 1-4 in the American Athletic Conference action. The Green Wave has lost three straight matches and five of their last seven matches with their wins coming at home against Tulsa and New Orleans. Tulane is 0-4 in true road games this season. The Green Wave has put together a .202 attack percentage with an average of 11.8 kills per set on 11.1 assists per set, while owning a 14.7 digs per set average and a 2.3 blocks per set ratio. Tea Juric leads Tulane with 243 kills for an average of just under four kills per set (3.74). She also adds 218 digs (3.35 per set) to rank second on the team. Elizabeth Hurring is the Green Wave's setter with 396 assists for an average of 8.43 per set. Lisa Mordell paces the defense with a team-best 243 digs to average 3.74 per set. At the net, Dayna Kern has posted 60 total blocks for 1.00 per set.
Scouting the Cougars
Houston owns the most total wins in the conference, but stand second in the league standings with a 14-3 overall record and 4-1 league mark. The Cougars have won eight of nine entering the weekend, including three in a row. Houston is hitting .208 this season, while holding their opponent to a .170 attack percentage. It is averaging 12.1 assists, 16.2 digs and 2.1 blocks per set. Brookah Palmer leads the conference with 4.37 kills per set and ranks fourth in service aces (0.36). Olivia O'Dell is The American leader in digs with 396 (5.91 dps). Keandra McCardell is responsible for setting up the offense with 8.27 assists per set.
Movin' On Up
Senior libero Erika Figueroa recently jumped into the East Carolina career record books after accumulating 1,000 career digs. With her 31 digs at Tulsa, the Orlando, Fla., native has amassed 1,060 digs in her four-year career thus far and ranks sixth in the ECU annals. She is 54 digs away from moving into the top-5 on the school's all-time list.
Coming Up
Following its game against Houston Sunday at 1 p.m., the Pirates will head to the Northeast to play at UConn on Friday, Oct. 16, and Temple on Sunday, Oct. 18.
