2008 Woodie Awards
Volleyball sweeps East Carolina Classic
Sean Labar
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Sports
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Friday night was about building momentum for the season and the pirates did just that. Freshman Amanda Lutzow showed unique skill and maturity leading the team with 13 kills. She appeared to develop a leadership role as a brand new player seeing the collegiate level for the first time.
"I think our blocking was huge this weekend", said Lutzow. "Our middies did a great job closing most of the blocks and had very effective touches for the defense to handle…we were very very scrappy in our first match which made the games a lot more fun."
The Pirates dominated the first set with a 25-12 defeat over the Buccaneers.
ECU remained competitive and showed no signs of slowing down, claiming victories in sets two and three in Minges Coliseum on Saturday. Junior Katie Prast set career highs and led the Pirates to gain two more wins. With the assistance of her teammates, Prast and the Pirates knocked off Highpoint and Howard giving ECU undefeated record for the season.
"We were prepared and we all wanted to win," said Prast, who took home MVP honors of the tournament. "Our team works very hard and with hard work comes success, we all have the drive and desire to win." Prast put up a double-double with 13 digs and 11 kills in an outstanding performance against Highpoint.
The theme of the tournament seemed to focus around teamwork.
"It is the entire team that is responsible for the victories," said Prast. "There were some players that came into the games for a short period of time but they made a big contribution…even the girls who are out because of an injury helped by cheering on all of us.
"I believe I help the team by maintaining a positive outlook. I try to encourage my teammates and boost everyone's spirits. We have very talented girls on this team. Everyone has something good to bring to the team to make us successful."
Sophomore Erica Bunning proved to be a critical part of the team with 11 kills against Highpoint.
"Well I thought overall we played some pretty good volleyball this weekend," said Bunning. "We had people step up when it counted to get the job done and everyone on the team played a role in this weekend's victories."
When asked about being crowned MVP of the weekend Prast replied, "It felt great! I was really happy that we won the tournament and being named the Most Valuable Player was fantastic!"
The team will try to maintain a perfect season away against North Carolina Central tonight.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com
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