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NEWS, NOTES &
COMMENTARY
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The
Bradsher Beat
Friday, October 20, 2006
By Bethany Bradsher |
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ECU in the thick of
volleyball title chase
©2006 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
The East Carolina volleyball team is just a
short home stand away from making history and gaining a burst of momentum
that could carry them all the way to the Pirates’ first conference
championship.
The Lady Pirates (14-9, 5-4) won their last four
Conference USA matches, a streak that is second only to their five-in-a-row
run in the conference last year. Before last season, the team’s first under
new head coach Chris Rushing, the squad hadn’t won more than three
consecutive conference games since the ‘80's.
To extend that streak and improve their standing
in C-USA, the team needs to prevail against Rice tonight and Houston on
Sunday afternoon. It could be a pivotal weekend for the Lady Pirates and
other teams in conference championship contention, especially because this
season has been defined by parity.
“This year, it’s so up in the air,” said
sophomore libero Trish Monroe. “Depending on who beats who this weekend, we
could have a six-way tie for first place.”
The team has really hit its stride in the past
few games, Rushing said, because after some experimentation with the lineup
he finally found the most effective combination of starters. Three freshmen
— Hannah Fenker, Stephanie Turner and Melissa Zeltner — join more
experienced players like seniors Jaime Bevan and Heidi Krug as starters.
“We just had to find the right combination,”
said Rushing, who came to ECU from Brigham Young. “It’s a pure team sport.”
Even though each player’s contribution is
crucial in volleyball, there have been some impressive individual
achievements from the squad. Krug, a setter from Kildeer, IL, earned
Conference USA Setter of the Week honors this week for her career-best 71
assists against Southern Mississippi. Krug also holds the ECU record for
most career assists.
Other standout contributors this season are
Bevan, who is two blocks away from setting ECU’s all-time career block
record, and junior Kelley Wernert, who is leading the team in kills with 353
total, or 4.3 a game.
The longer the season goes, the more the players
seem to achieve as they trust each other’s instincts on the court, Monroe
said.
“Individually we’re getting a lot more
confidence in each other, and then we’re getting more confidence in
ourselves,” she said.
Among the newcomers, Rushing has seen impressive
glimmers from players like Turner, an outside hitter who, at 5-foot-9, is
small for her position but makes up for it in her ability to get around the
floor.
“She’s a tiny girl, but she plays really big,”
he said. “It’s pretty bizarre how she’s just very dynamic and extremely
quick. I think she might be the quickest player I’ve every coached.”
With Rushing settled in at ECU and the team’s
belief in itself swelling with every win, the Pirates are poised to make a
serious postseason bid, especially because the departure of Louisville and
Cincinnati eliminated the dominant teams and left a conference of talented
teams that would win or lose any time they take the court.
“We have a minimum of eight matches left and we
could win them all, and we could lose them all,” Rushing said. “That’s how
our conference is.
“It makes it really exciting to know that anybody can win the conference
season or conference tournament.”
Rice comes into town at 4-5 in the conference
and Houston is 6-3. And those aren’t the Pirates’ only two chances to shore
up their own record before their home crowd. Next weekend brings two more
home games, against Southern Miss and Central Florida.
Despite some pressure to
continue the victory streak, Monroe doesn’t seem worried that her teammates
will give into the emotions and crumble.
“We’re really excited,”
she said. “We’re just playing so well that we want to keep it going.”
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02/23/2007 01:13:22 AM |
