Volleyball Opens American Conference Action at Cincinnati, Memphis
September 24, 2015 | Volleyball
| Match 13: East Carolina at Memphis | |
| Date | Sunday, Sept. 27 |
| Time | 2 p.m. (ET) |
| Location | Memphis, Tenn. |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | Live Stats |
| @ECUScoreboard | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina volleyball kicks off American Athletic Conference action Friday, Sept, 25 at Cincinnati at 7 p.m., before traveling to Memphis for a Sunday, Sept. 27, 2 p.m. contest. The Pirates are 7-4 on the year, while the Bearcats own an 8-4 record, and the Tigers are 10-4 overall.
The Series vs. Cincinnati
East Carolina and Cincinnati will meet for the ninth time in program history and the Bearcats lead the all-time series 7-1. Last season, the two teams met twice and came away with a split as ECU defeated Cincinnati for the first time in program history, 3-2 [21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 15-13], in Greenville, N.C., on Oct. 24, before the Bearcats swept the Pirates in Cincinnati, Ohio, 3-0 [23-25, 13-25, 21-25] a month later. East Carolina is looking for its first win in Cincinnati as the Pirates are 0-5 when playing at Fifth Third Arena.
The Series vs. Memphis
ECU and Memphis go head-to-head for the 23rd time in program history and the Tigers hold an 18-4 lead in the all-time series. A year ago, the conference foes split a pair of matches as Memphis defeated East Carolina in five sets [25-18, 26-24, 22-25, 16-25, 10-15] on Oct. 26, before the Pirates held off the Tigers 3-2 [25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 13-25, 15-11] on Nov. 21. When playing in Memphis, Tenn., East Carolina trails the Tigers 9-2.
Last Time Out
The East Carolina volleyball team earned a split against Wofford and Charleston Southern on the final day of the South Carolina Invitational after the Pirates fell to Wofford, 3-1 [22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-25], before outlasting Charleston Southern in five sets [21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 15-9]. Senior libero Erika Figueroa was named to the All-Tournament team after finishing the weekend with 42 digs to average 3.50 per set. With the split, ECU moves to 7-3 overall, while Wofford improves to 7-6 and Charleston Southern falls to 3-12. Figueroa led the defense posting 17 digs against Wofford and coming back later in the day to record 20 versus Charleston Southern en route to being named to the all-tournament team. Mares turned in a solid effort as she notched a pair of double-doubles before knocking down a career-high 21 kills against CSU. She finished the match with 13 digs, three block assists, two service aces and a pair of assists, while hitting .226. Helping Mares on the offensive end were Natalie Montini and Kierra Lee-Dunson who finished the contest with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Montini added three digs and four total blocks, while Lee-Dunson had three digs and as many block assists while recording a team-high .522 attack percentage. Junior Sabrina Gonzalez continued her stout play at setter as she finished the weekend with 92 assists to average nearly eight assists per set. In the Pirates' win over Charleston Southern, she dished out 48 helpers to help the ECU offense to a .261 hitting percentage. Despite early struggles against Wofford and eventually falling in four sets, the Pirates did a good job regrouping and coming out strong against Charleston Southern in the nightcap. The Pirates dropped the first set against the Buccaneers, 25-21, but refused to go 0-3 in the tournament. ECU bounced back and kept the second game close as the Pirates broke an early 8-8 tie and never looked back. East Carolina hit .440 in the frame and posted 15 kills as the Pirates rolled past the Bucs, 25-16. East Carolina continued its offensive output in the third set as the Pirates knocked down 18 kills and hit .244. The ECU defense limited the Bucs to just 11 kills in the frame while hitting .150. The Pirates held a steady lead and ended up winning the third game, 25-19. With the match in the Pirates' favor, Charleston Southern mounted a comeback and defeated East Carolina 25-21 in the fourth set, forcing a fifth and deciding game. The Pirates took the fifth game by a score of 15-9 as East Carolina hit .438, while holding the Bucs to a mere .059 attack percentage. ECU did a good job of using a balanced offense, while the defense kept Charleston Southern guessing as the Bucs were forced into six attack errors.
About the Pirates
After going 1-2 last weekend, East Carolina looks to bounce back when it opens American Athletic Conference action Friday, Sept. 25 at Cincinnati. The Pirates are 7-4 on the year and have posted a .235 attack percentage. In 11 non-conference matches, ECU is averaging 12.68 kills per set on 11.59 assists per game. At the serve, the Pirates have knocked down 66 service aces to average 1.61 per set. Defensively, East Carolina has dished out 603 digs for an average of 14.71 per set, while posting 1.59 blocks per set. Sophomore outside hitter Ashton Mares has been pacing the offense with a team-leading 128 kills as she is the only Pirate to average more than three kills per set. She also adds 87 digs (2.17 per set) to tie for second on the squad. Junior Sabrina Gonzalez, the Pirates' setter, has dished out 400 assists on the year for an average of 9.76 helpers per set. She is tied with Mares for second on the team with 2.17 digs per set. Senior libero Erika Figueroa anchors the East Carolina defense with 200 digs to average 4.88 per set. Adding to the Pirates' stout defense are middle blockers Kierra Lee-Dunson and Ashley McRae who each own a total of 27 blocks for an average of 0.66 per set.
Scouting the Bearcats
Cincinnati owns an 8-4 overall record and is 0-1 in American Athletic Conference action after falling in five sets to Memphis Wednesday night. The Bearcats are hitting .237 as a team and are 4-1 in three-set matches and 4-2 in four-set matches. In 12 matches this season, Cincinnati has averaged 13.82 kills per set on 12.72 assists per set, while knocking down 52 service aces for an average of 1.33 per game. On defense, the Bearcats have posted 2.36 blocks per set to go along with 16.51 digs per game. Jordan Thompson is Cincinnati's lead attacker with 127 kills to average 3.26 kills per set. Thompson, along with Emma Roberson, are the only two Bearcats to average more than three kills per set as Roberson contributes 3.11. Jade Tingelhoff and Parker Shepherd are Cincinnati's setters. Tingelhoff has dished out 243 assists for an average of 6.23 per set, while Shepherd adds 197 helpers to average 5.05 per game. Abby Williams leads the Bearcats' defense with 172 digs to average 4.41 per set. At the net, Maya Muldrow has posted a team-leading 42 total blocks to average 1.11 per set.
Scouting the Tigers
Memphis is coming off of a 3-2 victory over Cincinnati to open American Athletic Conference play. The Tigers are 10-4 overall and 1-0 in league action. The Tigers are 5-2 when playing at home and are a perfect 3-0 in four sets. They have won five of their last six games before facing East Carolina. The Tigers are averaging 12.80 kills per set on 11.90 assists per game en route to hitting .225 on the year. Memphis' defense averages 16.02 digs per set, while the front row has posted 91.0 total blocks for an average of 1.78 per game. Caitlin Lilly is the team's offensive leader with 159 kills as the only Tiger to average more than three kills per set on the year. She also adds 2.62 digs per set to rank third on the squad. Veronica Zimmerman is the Tigers' setter as she has recorded 427 assists on the year to average 9.28 assists per set. Zimmerman also contributes 111 digs to average 2.41 per set. Lindsey Purvis leads the Memphis defense with 155 digs for an average of 3.04 per set. The back row player has also received help from Mady Ruhlman who adds 116 digs while averaging 3.52 per game.
Eyeing the Record Books
Senior libero Erika Figueroa has been stout on defense this season for the Pirates. The Orlando, Fla., native has accumulated 200 digs this season to average 4.88 per set. She has now amassed 973 digs during her four-year career in purple and gold and is just 28 digs shy of entering the East Carolina annals, a feat she could very well accomplish during the first weekend of American Athletic Conference action.
Setting the Tone
Junior Sabrina Gonzalez seems to be settling into the setter role nicely as the Elizabeth City, N.C., native has paced the offense with 400 assists to average 9.76 assists per set. The transfer from UNC Pembroke has been very consistent on the court and has contributed to more than 80-percent of ECU's assists. She has helped the Pirates average 11.59 helpers per set this season which has led to a .235 team hitting percentage by the offense. Most recently, Gonzalez's efforts awarded her a nod to the East Carolina Invitational All-Tournament Team as well as American Athletic Conference Honor Roll.
Offensive Output
Sophomore outside hitter Ashton Mares is currently leading East Carolina's offense with 128 kills and is the only Pirate to average more than three kills per set with 3.20 per game. She has received offensive support from teammates Natalie Montini and Kierra Lee-Dunson. Montini, a sophomore middle hitter, is second on the team with 105 kills to average 2.62 kills per set, while Lee-Dunson leads the squad with an attack percentage of .341, while adding 104 kills for an average of 2.54 per game. The trio have helped ECU tally 520 kills on the year for an average of 12.68, while hitting .235 as a team.
Block Party
Kierra Lee-Dunson and Ashley McRae have been solid at the net for East Carolina as they have each contributed 27 total blocks and have helped limit the opponents' hitting percentage to .168. The duo are averaging a team-best 0.66 blocks per set average and have helped ECU post 65.0 total team blocks and average 1.59 blocks per game.
Coming Up
After the Pirates open American Athletic Conference action at Cincinnati and Memphis, East Carolina continues its road swing at SMU in Dallas, Texas and Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. (ET) and Sunday, Oct. 4 at 2:30 p.m. (ET), respectively. Live stats will be available on ECUPirates.com.
