East Carolina Heads to Davidson Tournament for the Weekend
September 03, 2015 | Volleyball
| Matches 3-5: East Carolina at Davidson Tournament | |
| Dates | Friday, Sept. 4 - Saturday, Sept. 5 |
| Times | ECU vs. Presbyterian - Sept. 4 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) ECU vs. Hampton - Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. (ET) ECU at Davidson - Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. (ET) |
| Location | Davidson, N.C. |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  |
| Coverage | ECU at Davidson - Live Stats | Video |
| @ECUScoreboard | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Pirate Volleyball heads to Davidson, N.C., for their first tournament of the season. East Carolina, which is 2-0 after sweeping past Savannah State and NC Central, will open the Davidson Tournament against Presbyterian Friday, Sept. 4 at 4:30 p.m. ECU will play two matches Saturday, Sept. 5 as the Pirates face Hampton at 10 a.m. before going head-to-head with host, Davidson at 6 p.m. to conclude the tournament.
The Series vs. Presbyterian
East Carolina and Presbyterian will meet for just the second time in program history when the two teams square off on Friday. In the only previous meeting, the Blue Hose defeated the Pirates, 2-1, in 1988. Twenty-seven years later, ECU looks to even the slate and collect its first win over Presbyterian.
The Series vs. Hampton
ECU and Hampton will meet for the first time since 1998 on Saturday morning. Despite the 17-year hiatus since meetings, East Carolina holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series. In their last match, ECU swept Hampton, 3-0 in Greenville, N.C. The Pirates of Hampton, will be looking to earn their first victory over the Pirates of ECU this weekend.
The Series vs. Davidson
The Pirates and the Wildcats have met 12 times in program history and Davidson owns a 7-5 edge on East Carolina in the all-time series. Although the two teams have met a dozen times, Saturday's match will be the first game between the two squads since 1998. That year, the Wildcats swept the Pirates, 3-0, in Davidson, N.C. ECU 's last victory over the Wildcats came in 1994 when the Pirates defeated Davidson in five sets in Greenville, N.C.
Last Time Out
Sophomore middle blocker Natalie Montini tied her career-high with 11 kills as she helped lead East Carolina to its second sweep in as many matches. ECU held off NC Central (0-4) by scores of 25-21, 25-22, 25-13 to improve to 2-0 on the year. Montini posted 11 kills for the third time in her career as she was the only Pirate to tally double-figure kills in the contest. Pacing the offense was junior setter Sabrina Gonzalez who finished the match with 31 assists, while adding three kills, two digs and one block assist. Senior defensive specialist Erika Figueroa posted a match-high 21 digs as her defensive effort helped ECU limit the Eagles to a .133 attack percentage. Although the match was close in the first two sets, the Pirates found their stride and out-hit NC Central .429 to .135 in the third and final set as they took the game by a 12-point margin to complete the three-set sweep.
About the Pirates
East Carolina, which is 2-0, competes in the Davidson Tournament this weekend along with Presbyterian, Hampton and host, Davidson. After playing in two matches thus far, ECU is leading its opponents in all statistical categories. The Pirates are out-hitting their opponents .314 to .047, while owning the offensive edge in kills per set (11.7 to 8.7) and assists per set (10.8 to 8.2). East Carolina has also dominated its counterparts at the net as the Pirates have posted 13.0 total blocks to their opponents' 3.0. ECU has also averaged 14.0 digs per set to 12.2 and has notched 16 aces while their opponents have recorded five. Offensively, sophomores Ashton Mares and Natalie Montini lead the Pirates with 20 and 16 kills, respectively. Mares is hitting .308 on the year with 2.17 digs per set and 0.17 blocks per set, while Montini is averaging 0.40 blocks per set and 0.80 digs per set to go along with a .333 attack percentage. Junior Sabrina Gonzalez has been solid at the setter position as she has dished out 50 assists in two matches to average 8.33 per set. Senior Erika Figueroa has been holding down the back row averaging an impressive 5.33 digs per set. She has received help from Gonzalez and senior libero Lauren Bewick who are both averaging 1.67 digs per set.
Scouting the Blue Hose
Presbyterian comes into the Davidson Tournament with a 1-3 overall record. The Blue Hose opened the year with a 3-1 victory over Fordham, but has suffered setbacks in their last three matches to Wofford (3-0), Florida Gulf Coast (3-0) and New Orleans (3-1). The Blue Hose is hitting .146 as a team and averaging 11.4 kills per set on 10.6 assists per set. Presbyterian holds a slight advantage over its opponents on defense as the Blue Hose average 14.7 digs per set to their counterparts' 14.1. The quartet of Sierra Davis, Samantha Del Toro, Ashton Stewart and Rachel Elshoff has combined for 136 kills as they have all posted 30-plus kills thus far. Sara Rogers is the Blue Hose setter with 141 assists to average 9.40 per set. She also adds 28 digs (1.87 per set), nine kills (0.60 per set) and seven total blocks (0.47 per set). On defense, Mikayla Register has notched 69 digs to average 4.60 per set, while Del Toro adds 42 and Elshoff contributes 34.
Scouting the Lady Pirates
Hampton is still looking for its first win of the 2015 season after going 0-3 at the Liberty Tournament last weekend. The Lady Pirates were swept in all three matches against Fairleigh Dickinson, UNC Greensboro and host, Liberty. Having not won a set yet, the Lady Pirates are hitting a mere .074 as they have struggled offensively to start the year. They are trailing their opponents in every offensive category and have tallied 115 digs (12.8 per set) to their counterparts' 130 (14.4 per set). Reeana Richardson and Allysa Medina lead Hampton with 23 kills each for an average of 2.56 kills per set. Richardson has notched five of the Lady Pirates' seven service aces this year and she is also leading the squad with 24 digs (2.67 per set). Medina is just behind her, defensively, with 23 digs. Brianna Lilly is Hampton's setter with 75 assists for an average of 8.33 per set, while adding 20 digs and three total blocks.
Scouting the Wildcats
Host Davidson had a rough opening weekend at Charlotte as the Wildcats went 0-3 in the Charlotte Invitational with losses to the 49ers (3-0), UNC Asheville (3-1) and USC Upstate (3-0). In the first three matches of the season, Davidson has put together a .140 attack percentage while averaging 10.4 kills per set on 9.5 assists per set. The Wildcats lead their opponents in only one statistical category thus far - blocks per set with 2.6 to their counterparts' 1.8. Mason Rooney and Sarah Fink lead the team with 22 and 21 kills, respectively. Rooney is splitting time at setter with Mikayla Derochie as Rooney has tallied 35 assists and Derochie has dished out 50. Morgan Shannon has been solid on defense for the Wildcats so far with 46 digs to average 4.60 per set.
Eyeing the Record Books
After recording 32 digs in the first two matches of the season, senior defensive specialist/libero Erika Figueroa has accumulated 805 career digs which is just 196 shy of breaking into the East Carolina career record book. Although the season is still early, Figueroa is averaging 5.33 digs per set and if she continues on that pace, will easily etch her name into the ECU history books.
Offensive Output
With two matches under their belts, sophomores Ashton Mares and Natalie Montini have got off to a hot start. The duo are averaging 3.33 and 3.20 kills per set, respectively, while Montini is hitting .333 and Mares owns a .308 attack percentage. In the first match of the season, Mares notched a match-high 11 kills and Montini matched her 11 kills in the second match of the year, also pacing the team. The duo has helped the Pirates hit .314 as a team and knock down 70 kills for an average of 11.67 kills per set.
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 50 assists to average 8.33 assists per set. The transfer from UNC Pembroke has been very consistent on the court and has contributed to nearly 80-percent of ECU's assists. She has helped the Pirates average 10.83 per set in just two matches which has led to a .314 team hitting percentage by the offense.
Can You Dig It?
Senior defensive specialist/libero Erika Figueroa has picked up right where she left off after her junior year concluded. The product out of Orlando, Fla., has collected 32 digs over two matches to average 5.33 digs per set. The team captain has been stout in the back row pacing the ECU defense as it averages 14.00 digs per set. After tying a school record and leading the team in digs as a junior, Figueroa is back on the court and eyeing the record book with 805 career digs in her four years in purple and gold.
Block Party
Kierra Lee-Dunson and Ashley McRae have been solid at the net for East Carolina as they have combined for 11 total blocks and have helped limit the opponents' hitting percentage to just .047. Lee-Dunson has tallied six total blocks in as many games to average 1.00 blocks per set, while McRae is averaging 0.83 blocks per set. The pair have helped ECU post 13.0 total team blocks and average 2.17 blocks per game, while opponents are being held to just 0.50 blocks per set.
Coming Up
ECU plays in its first home match of the year Friday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m., when it hosts Hampton as part of the East Carolina Invitational. The tournament will be held at Williams Arena inside Minges Coliseum and features Western Carolina, William & Mary, Hampton and host, ECU. The Pirates will take on Western Carolina Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12:30 p.m., before closing out the tournament against William & Mary at 7 p.m. Live stats and video streaming will be available on ECUPirates.com.
