The East Central University volleyball team will have two matches early in the week and then have a weekend off.  The Lady Tigers will first battle with Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, Okla., Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. and then host Southeastern Oklahoma State, Thursday, Oct. 31 for the annual Black Out Night at the Kerr Activities Center.  The night will also feature a Halloween Costume Contest and Trick-or-Treating with ECU Athletics for area kids at the gym starting at 6 p.m.

Match Notes

Scouting Northwestern
The Rangers are 4-18 overall and 1-8 in the GAC after losing their last two matches.  NWOSU trails its opponents in all areas on the season box score, but is close in all but hitting percentage.  The Rangers have a .164 to .215 disadvantage in attack percentage on the season.

NWOSU has five hitters with over 300 attempts on the year, but three that have registered over 150 kills.  Asia Pipkin leads the team in attempts, with 669.  Pipkin has a .187 (213k-88e-669ta) hitting percentage, 11 service aces, 211 digs and 27 (4-23) blocks.  Hayley Brattain is the most consistent hitter of the group with a .273 (173k-57e-421ta) hitting percentage.  Brattain also adds 27 service aces and 38 (4-34) blocks.

Against the Rangers
In the first meeting between the two teams this season, ECU earned a 3-1 win at home and had advantages in hitting percentage (.189/.042), service aces (9/4) and blocks (13/9).

Senior Noelle Cope led the Lady Tigers with 12 kills, four block assists and a .350 (12k-5e-20ta) hitting percentage.  Senior Ashley Williams added eight kills and six (1-5) blocks.

Alyssa Eicher led the Rangers with eight kills, while Hayley Brattain added six kills, four block assists and two service aces.

The Series
Tuesday's game will be just the fourth in the all-time series with the Rangers, with the Lady Tigers having one all three previous meetings.  ECU is 1-0 when facing NWOSU in Alva, Okla.

Scouting Southeastern
The Savage Storm are 10-13 overall and 4-5 in the GAC after dropping their last two matches.  Southeastern will face Texas A&M-Commerce Tuesday before traveling to Ada.

The Savage Storm trail their opponents in all area of the season box score except service aces (1.6/1.4).  While they trail in most categories they are close to the opposition.

Southeastern has three key hitters in Emily Gentle, Megan Kunkel and Courtney Miller.  Gentle has a .202 (290k-117e-856ta) hitting percentage, 25 service aces, 197 digs and 47 (6-41) blocks.  Kunkel adds 192 kills, 27 service aces and 221 digs. Miller has tallied 126 kills on the season and 479 attempts.

Against the Savage Storm
In the first meeting of the season between ECU and Southeastern, the Lady Tigers earned their first win in the all-time series in Durant, Okla. (3-1).

Senior Danielle Essix led the team with 20 kills and a .372 (20k-4e-43ta) hitting percentage.  Fellow senior Jessica Wilkinson added one of her four double-doubles of the season with 24 assists and 14 digs.

Emily Gentle led the Savage Storm with 11 kills and five blocks (1-4).

The Series
It will be the 12th meeting between the Lady Tigers and the Savage Storm, dating back to 2008.  ECU earned a 3-1 win in the last meeting, but trails 3-8 in the series.  When played at the Kerr Activities Center, the series stands at 3-2 in favor of Southeastern.

Home Court Advantage
In 2013 the Lady Tigers are 6-3 when playing at home and have won their last six matches in the Kerr Activities Center.

Cope Closing In on 1,000 Kills
Senior Noelle Cope is closing in on becoming the first ECU volleyball player to tally 1,000 Career Kills.  The Arlington, Texas, native has 998 career kills and is already at the top of the career kills list for the Lady Tigers.

Blocking Party
The Lady Tigers are already on pace to have one of the best blocking seasons after their opening two matches of the season.  The most blocks in a season by ECU is 245.0 from the 2011 season, which averaged out to 1.93 blocks per set.  The Lady Tigers already have 164 blocks, or 1.95 per set.  ECU's 1.93 blocks per game (as of Oct. 21) ranks them No. 86 in the NCAA.  

Tracking the Record Books
While the ECU volleyball program has only been around since 2008, there are several members of the 2013 squad that are at the top or close to the top of several career record categories.

Taylor Brown    
- 4th Assists (725)

Noelle Cope     
- 1st Kills (998)
- 1st Attempts (2,909)
- 1st Points (1,162.0)
- 4th Block Assists (126)
- 4th Block Solos (27)
- 4th Total Blocks (153)
- 4th Matches Played (108)
- 4th Sets Played (375)

Danielle Essix    
- 1st Service Aces (85)
- 2nd Attempts (2,766)
- 2nd Kills (874)
- 2nd Points (1,020.5)
- 3rd Matches Played (115)
- 3rd Sets Played (392)
- 3rd Digs (875)

Hayley Gerken    
- 3rd Total Blocks (171)
- 3rd Block Assists (148)
- 5th Attack Pct. (.102)

Sarah Nelson  
 - 1st Total Blocks (277)
- 1st Block Assists (242)
- 2nd Block Solos (35)
- 5th Matches Played (105)
Madison Seiler    
- 5th Assists (381)

Jessica Wilkinson    
- 3rd Assists (1,232)

Up Next
After the weekend off, the Lady Tigers will travel to Southwestern Oklahoma State, Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. and then host Ouachita Baptist, Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.