Thursday, October 13
New Orleans, La.
8:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
at
Tulane
Gameday: East Carolina Hits The Road For AAC Set At Tulane And Houston
October 13, 2016 | Volleyball
| Matches 17-18: at Tulane/Houston | |
| Schedule | Oct. 13: at Tulane \\\ 8 p.m. \\\ New Orleans, La. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Oct. 15: at Houston \\\ 1 p.m. \\\ Houston, Texas \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video |
| Venue | Tulane (Devlin Fieldhouse) \\\ Houston (Athletics/Alumni Center) |
| Social Media | @ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Match Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted \\\ #14Strong \\\ #PirateNation |
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Having won its first American Athletic Conference match of the 2016 campaign last week at home, the East Carolina volleyball team looks to extend that momentum to the road this week as the Pirates face Tulane Thursday evening in New Orleans and Houston Saturday afternoon.
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Coverage: Live stats and a live video stream are accessible for both matches. However, a fee is associated with both streams.
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In its most recent outing, ECU downed Memphis in five sets (22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 15-9) for its first league and home victories of the season. Senior outsides Sydney Darden and I'Tiana Taylor came through with double-doubles, posting 20 and 17 kills as well as 19 and 13 digs respectively. Gonzalez notched her ninth double-double of the campaign finishing with 54 assists and 19 digs. Defensively, freshman libero Brandee Markwith led all players with 23 digs.
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The Pirates (11-5, 1-5 AAC) enter Thursday's match as the top team in the conference in both opposing hitting percentage (.139) and blocks per set (2.41). Individually, senior middle hitter Ashley McRae is third in the league in blocks per set (1.16) while Gonzalez ranks fourth in assists per set (10.26).
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Talking Tulane: The Green Wave (12-6, 4-2 AAC) played a strong two matches in Florida last weekend, picking up a 3-1 victory at USF before sweeping UCF in Orlando. As a team, Tulane is putting up 13.16 kills, 12.20 assists, 1.15 aces, 15.15 digs and 2.03 blocks per set to go along with a .246 hitting percentage. Sarah Ray is the top offensive threat, averaging 3.46 kills per set, while Kaylie McHugh anchors the back row to the tune of 3.99 digs per set. The Green Wave lead the series with East Carolina 16-3 and have not lost to the Pirates in New Orleans. The teams split the season series in 2015 with each side winning in five sets on its home court.
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About Houston: The Cougars (5-12, 0-6 AAC) have dropped eight straight entering their matchup with Cincinnati Thursday, suffering a sweep at the hands of UCF and losing 3-1 to USF last weekend. Sarah Afflerbaugh paces the Houston offensive efforts with an average of 2.73 kills per set while Katie Karbo checks in with a 4.41 digs per set average – good for third in the conference. Collectively, the Cougars average 11.86 kills, 11.31 assists, 1.54 aces, 13.37 digs and 1.34 blocks per set as well as a .176 hitting percentage. Houston holds a 16-3 advantage in the series with East Carolina but the teams split last year's matchups with the Pirates sweeping the Cougars in Greenville and Houston responding with a 3-1 win on its Senior Day.
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News and Notes
- If ECU can win five of its final 14 matches, it will post the program's first winning season since 2006.
- Under head coach Julie Torbett, the Pirates are 16-11 in five-set matches, including a 2-0 mark this year.
- Junior middle hitter Natalie Montini has been a great presence at the net for East Carolina in league matches as she ranks second among AAC players in blocks per set (1.26).
- ECU is 5-2 on the road this season and has not been swept in any match away from Minges Coliseum
- With a 10-0 start to the season, East Carolina is now 36-14 in non-conference matches under Coach Torbett.
- Coach Torbett, in her fourth season with East Carolina, is just 11 wins away from her 400 for her career. She left Winthrop after the 2012 campaign as the winningest coach in Big South Conference history. In terms of the AAC, Torbett owns the second-most career victories among the league's current head coaches. Her 388 wins trail only Houston head coach Kaddie Platt.
- McRae has compiled 278 blocks in her career at ECU and currently ranks ninth on the program career list. She is also the current all-time leader in hitting percentage with a .305 mark – including a .360 percentage as a sophomore.
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Up Next: East Carolina returns home to finish the first half of its AAC schedule, welcoming Temple and UConn to Minges Coliseum for a Friday-Sunday AAC set. The Pirates will battle the Owls Friday at 7 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend against the Huskies Sunday at 1 p.m.
Up Next: East Carolina returns home to finish the first half of its AAC schedule, welcoming Temple and UConn to Minges Coliseum for a Friday-Sunday AAC set. The Pirates will battle the Owls Friday at 7 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend against the Huskies Sunday at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Defensive Specialist/Libero
/ Volleyball
Middle Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
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