Sept. 9, 2010

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East Carolina Volleyball Gameday Central

Pre-Tournament Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The East Carolina volleyball team continues nonconference play Friday, taking on Campbell at 4:30 p.m. in the first match of the Wake Forest Black/Gold Challenge at Reynolds Gymnasium. The Pirates (0-6) seek their first win of the 2010 campaign after dropping three matches at the Delaware Invitational last weekend.

Redshirt Junior Britney Roper earned all-tournament honors in her second-straight event, racking up 20 kills on 59 attempts with 10 errors to post a .169 hitting percentage. She also tallied six blocks in 10 sets for an average of 0.6 per frame.

A few Pirates also set or matched career highs during the weekend. Junior Jackie Varnum put down a personal-best 12 kills on 17 attempts with no errors, registering a .706 mark against Rutgers while redshirt sophomore Kelly Derby collected a career-standard 11 block assists - also versus the Scarlet Knights. Meanwhile, Shelby Beasley matched her personal high with 13 digs against Rutgers and also reached double digits with 10 in the last match opposite Sam Houston State. The freshman has picked up double-digit digs in four of six matches.

Roper leads ECU in kills and hitting percentage while Amanda Lutzow paces the offense in kills per set. Additionally, freshman Andrea Queck has dished out a team-high 120 assists (6.32 per set) and classmate Shelby Beasley leads the defense with 61 digs (3.21 per frame).

After battling the Camels, the Pirates close the event Saturday with matches against West Virginia (10 a.m.) and the host Demon Deacons (7 p.m.)

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION: Campbell enters the weekend with a 1-7 record. The Camels have had a tough schedule, however, playing the likes of No. 1 Penn State, North Carolina and Duke. Campbell's lone win came at the Colonial Challenge hosted by William and Mary in the form of a 3-0 win over Hampton. West Virginia, meanwhile, is 5-2 in 2010 but lost two of three matches last weekend, suffering sweeps to Charlotte and George Mason before bouncing back with a 3-0 victory over Army. Wake Forest, ECU's final opponent of the event, also dropped two of three affairs at the Active Ankle Challenge last weekend in St. Louis - losing 3-1 to the host Billikens and 3-0 to Creighton to go along with a 3-1 triumph over Big Ten foe Iowa.

A FAMILIAR FOE: East Carolina and Campbell will square off for the 40th time Friday. The Pirates hold a distinct 33-6 advantage and defeated the Camels 3-1 in Buies Creek last season for their fifth-straight win in the series. Campbell's last victory over ECU occurred in 2004 at Minges Coliseum when the Camels rallied from a 2-0 deficit to post a five-set triumph.

SERIES LEAD AT STAKE: The Pirates and West Virginia have battled just four times with each squad holding a pair of wins. In the last meeting, the Mountaineers swept East Carolina as part of the 1996 Towson State Invitational. The Pirates last defeated WVU in 1980, a 2-1 affair in Greenville.

TIME TO BREAK THE STREAK: ECU won five of the first eight matches it played against Wake Forest. However, the Demon Deacons have taken the last 10 affairs with the last Pirate victory in the series occurring in 1980 in 2-0 decision.

HAVE WE MET?: Having said goodbye to five seniors from last year's squad, the Pirates welcome the future of East Carolina Volleyball in 2010 as eight newcomers join the roster. Six freshman and a junior transfer will don the purple and gold while former Pirate softball standout Marina Gusman-Brown will finish her time at ECU as a spiker.

UP NEXT: East Carolina heads to Washington, D.C. Sept. 17-18 for its last nonconference tournament - the Georgetown Classic. The Pirates battle Furman Friday night at 7 p.m. before taking on the host Hoyas and Binghamton to close out the event Saturday.