Nov. 6, 2009

ECU Volleyball Gameday Central

Complete Match Notes in PDF Format

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina volleyball team plays the first home televised match in program history Friday night, welcoming Memphis to Minges Coliseum at 7 p.m. The contest is scheduled to be shown on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. by CBS College Sports.

The Pirates enter the contest looking to avenge a 3-0 loss at Memphis on Oct. 9. Sophomore Britney Roper led the offense with 12 kills while senior Stephanie Turner contributed seven. Sophomore Nicole Jones paced the back row, picking up eight digs to go along with four each for Turner and Lizzy Bruin.

The Tigers hit well as a team, producing a .400 mark as compared to just .173 for the Pirates. Memphis also out-dug ECU 29-19 while also enjoying a 3-1 blocking advantage.

The Series: The Tigers enjoy a 11-3 advantage in the series between the schools. The Tigers captured a pair of matches against the Pirates last season, winning 3-1 in Greenville and 3-0 at home. The Pirates have not recorded a triumph against Memphis since the 2006 season, when they took two 3-1 decisions.

Looking Back: The Pirates suffered a pair of defeats last weekend at Rice and Houston, falling to the Owls 3-0 while dropping a four-set decision to the Cougars. Redshirt freshman Briana Fleener continued her strong play at the net, recording a combined 10 block assists as she now owns 26 in her last four outings.

About the Competition: Memphis is tied with the Pirates for 11th in the league standings with a 2-11 ledger and owns a 2009 record of 6-22. The Tigers fell to league-leading Southern Miss 3-0 last weekend before responding with a wild 3-2 triumph over UCF.

Replacing Records
A few members of the team have put themselves into the top 10 on some of the East Carolina career ledgers. Fenker and classmate Stephanie Turner are currently eighth and ninth on the digs list, with 975 and 971, respctively. Fenker also resides in sixth on the assists chart, as she owns 1,907. Additionally, Turner sits in 10th in kills with 918.

Midweek Magic
With the win over UNCW, East Carolina has now compiled a 16-match winning streak in contests that fall between Monday and Thursday. The last loss occurred at home on September 28, 2004, a 3-2 loss to Campbell.

.200 Or Better
If the Pirates have compiled a .200-plus hitting percentage in 2009, they have been unstoppable, racking up a 7-0 record. In two of those contests, East Carolina has surpassed the .400 plateau, firing at .442 and .434 clips against Savannah State and Winston-Salem State, respectively.

Digging For Victories
It is a widely held mantra that defense wins championships. For the Pirates in 2009, it also means winning games during the season as ECU owns a 7-0 mark when out-digging its opponents. In four of the victories, the Pirates have surpassed 40 (UNC Asheville 45, St. John's 58, Campbell 72, UNCW 76).

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