The East Central University volleyball team will play three non-conference matches over the next week before opening the Great American Conference portion of the season. The Lady Tigers will first host St. Gregory's, Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. at the Kerr Activities Center. ECU will then travel to Oklahoma City, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 21 to battle with Wayland Baptist (1 p.m.) and Oklahoma City (3 p.m.)
Match Notes
Scouting St. Gregory's
The Cavaliers are 3-8 on the season after going 0-4 at the Kansas Wesleyan Tournament over the weekend.
Offensively, SGU is led by Morgan Brown. Brown has 67 kills and a .317 (67k-16e-161ta) hitting percentage. Cierra Mullins has seen most of the attack attempts on the season, with 215, but has a .121 (65k-39e-215ta) hitting percentage. She also adds 16 service aces, 37 digs and 15 (3-12) blocks.
As a team, the Cavaliers have struggled offensively, hitting just .097 as a team. However, their opponents have not done much better, hitting at a .196 mark. SGU is close in all the statistical categories, with one of the biggest disadvantages in blocks (1.1 to 1.6).
The Series
The Lady Tigers are 2-0 all-time against the Cavaliers, with both matches being played during the 2008 season. ECU is also 1-0 when playing in Ada.
Scouting Wayland Baptist
The Pioneers are 12-2 overall on the season, including a 4-0 mark at the Kansas Wesleyan Tournament last weekend. WBU will face Mid-America Christian Friday before facing ECU Saturday.
The Pioneers have a .286 team hitting percentage and are allowing their opponents to hit at just a .157 mark. One of the key reasons for the difference is blocking. WBU is averaging 2.5 blocks per game and allowing just 1.4 by the opposition.
Shahala Hawkins and Grecia Riveria lead the Pioneers, with both tallying at least 100 kills. Hawkins is hitting at a .346 (123k-35e-254ta) pace and adds 12 service aces and 45 (18-27) blocks. Riveria has a .266 (100k-28e-271ta) hitting percentage, with 10 service aces and 112 digs.
The Series
The meetings with the Pioneers will be the first in program history.
Scouting Oklahoma City
The Stars are 5-4 on the season and will have two chances to improve their record before facing the Lady Tigers, as they play Tuesday and Wednesday.
OCC is averaging .211 hitting and allowing their opponents to hit at a .177 pace. The Stars have advantages in most statistical categories, including large leads in service aces (2.1 to 1.0), digs (15.3 to 11.8) and blocks (2.0 to 1.1).
Kristen Macy is the player who sees the most sets for OCC. She has a .176 (81k-42e-222ta) hitting percentage and adds 17 service aces, 82 digs and 15 (7-8) blocks. Torrie Flynn is the most consistent hitter, with a .216 (47k-20e-125ta) attack percentage.
Against the Stars
A year ago, the teams meet for the first time and the Lady Tigers earned a 3-2 win at the Kerr Activities Center. Sophomore Sarah Simpson led ECU with 22 kills, while senior Danielle Essix added 14. Senior Jessica Wilkinson had a strong net setting, with 52 assists.
The top returners for the Stars are Torrie Flynn, Rachel Gabel and Meghan Irwin. Flynn hit .611 for the day with 12 kills, while Gabel and Irwin both garnered 12 kills.
The Series
This is just the second meeting in the all-time series between the Stars and the Lady Tigers, with ECU leading 1-0.
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 50 blocks, or 1.9 per set.
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 (695)
Noelle Cope
- 1st Kills (866)
- 1st Attempts (2,515)
- 1st Points (1007.0)
- 3rd Block Assists (110)
- 5th Sets Played (321)
- 5th Matches Played (90)
Danielle Essix
- 3rd Attempts (2,300)
- 3rd Matches Played (98)
- 4th Kills (719)
- 3rd Points (845.5)
- 4th Sets Played (335)
- 5th Digs (679)
Sarah Nelson
- 2nd Total Blocks (229)
- T1st Block Assists (199)
- 3rd Block Solos (30)
Jessica Wilkinson
- 3rd Assists (915)
Picked to Finish Sixth
The Lady Tigers were picked to finish sixth in the GAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll. ECU earned 56 points in the poll, with Harding earning the top spot with 97 points and seven first-place votes. Arkansas Tech was second (93 points/four first-place votes), Southwestern third (78), Southern Nazarene fourth (69), Southern Arkansas fifth (65), Ouachita Baptist seventh (49), Southeastern eighth (35), Arkansas-Monticello ninth (31), and Henderson State and Northwestern tied for 10th (16).
Returning Depth
The Lady Tiger return five of seven starters and have seven seniors on the 2013 roster. That experience means ECU will have depth at every position. The Lady Tigers have three returners at the outside hitter position in sophomore Sarah Simpson and senior starters Danielle Essix and Noelle Cope. Senior Sarah Nelson and sophomore Hayley Gerken both return as middle blockers and will be challenged by junior-college transfer Ashley Williams. The setter position will be filled by senior Jessica Wilkinson and red-shirt freshman Madison Seiler, while senior Taylor Brown moved from setter to Libero after the completion of the 2012 season.
Up Next
The Lady Tigers will open Great American Conference action next week. ECU will first face Southwestern Oklahoma State, Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Kerr Activities Center. The Lady Tigers will then travel to battle with Southeastern Oklahoma State, Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
