Gameday: East Carolina Closes Home Schedule Against Houston And Tulane

Matches 27-28: Houston and Tulane
Schedule	Nov. 17: Houston \\\ 7 p.m. \\\ Greenville, N.C. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Nov. 19: Tulane \\\ Noon \\\ Greenville, N.C. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video
Venue	Minges Coliseum
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Match Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted \\\ #14Strong \\\ #PirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina volleyball wraps up its home slate this week with a pair of American Athletic Conference matches against Houston and Tulane.

The Pirates will honor their four-member senior class immediately following Thursday night's matchup with the Cougars. Saturday's match versus the Green Wave is free admission for all fans.

Coverage: Live stats and a free video stream are available for both matches with links accessible through www.ecupirates.com.

Promotions
Thursday

Senior Night – Postmatch senior recognition ceremony
Throwback Thursday: Totally 90s – First 100 fans get an East Carolina fanny pack and music during the match will be songs from the 1990s.
Campus Living Night – Finals of Residence Halls Rock, Paper, Scissors Challenge will be held during intermission ... Postmatch pizza party for all students with the volleyball team.
Bring Your 'A' Game – Kids receive free admission to the game by bringing their most recent report card with an 'A' in any subject.
Student-Athlete Golden Game – Teams can earn extra Pirate Points by attending the match

East Carolina enters the match looking for its first victory in its last six outings. Last weekend, ECU fell to UConn 3-1 and Temple 3-0 on the road. The Pirates were two points away from sending the match with the Huskies to five sets, but dropped the fourth 26-24 in extra points.

The Purple and Gold took on Tulane and Houston on the road earlier this season, recording wins in both matches to complete its first-ever weekend sweep away from home in AAC play. The Pirates topped the Green Wave 3-1 in New Orleans before sweeping Houston two days later. Thus, East Carolina will have two chances at home to complete season sweep of a team for the first time since joining the league.

Senior outside hitter I'Tiana Taylor tallied double-digit kills in both matches last weekend and is the team leader in both kills (249) and kills per set (2.74). The Pirate middles, senior Ashley McRae and junior Natalie Montini, are tied for top honors on the squad in blocking at 1.01 per set, anchoring an ECU blocking effort that is tops in the American (2.29 per set).

About Houston: The Cougars (5-22, 0-16 AAC) arrive in Greenville looking for their first league victory of the season. Houston nearly knocked off Memphis last Sunday but fell in five sets after leading the Tigers two sets to one. Sarah Afflerbaugh leads the Cougars offensively with a 2.69 kills per set average while Katie Karbo checks in at 4.49 digs per set. Houston leads the series with East Carolina 16-4.

Last Meeting: East Carolina 3, Houston 0 (30-28, 28-26, 25-17) – Oct. 15, 2016 @ Houston, Texas

Scouting Tulane: The Green Wave (16-12, 8-8 AAC) will play at Cincinnati Thursday before trekking down to North Carolina Saturday. Tulane is riding some momentum, having won three of its last four matches with victories over UConn, Memphis and Houston. Sarah Ray is averaging a team-best 3.95 kills per set while Kaylie McHugh is putting up 5.36 digs per set. The Green Wave has won 16 of the 20 meetings with the Pirates and seven of the 10 in Greenville.

Last Meeting: East Carolina 3, Tulane 1 (25-21, 25-22, 27-29, 25-23) – Oct. 13, 2016 @ New Orleans, La.

News and Notes

The Pirates were strong at the net last weekend, averaging 2.57 blocks per set in the matches at UConn and Temple. East Carolina racked up a whopping 16 solo blocks against the Huskies.
McRae will graduate from ECU as the career leader in hitting percentage. She enters the week having hit .319 and already owns two of the top 10 single-season marks in program history.
East Carolina needs to win just two of its last four matches to record its first winning season since 2006.
Head Coach Julie Torbett is eight victories away from 400 for her career. She is the second-winningest active head coach in the American Athletic Conference.
ECU won six league matches in its first season as an AAC member in 2014 and five in 2015. The Pirates have won four with four contests remaining this campaign.

Gameday: East Carolina Closes Home Schedule Against Houston And Tulane

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Players Mentioned

Ashley McRae

Natalie Montini

I'Tiana Taylor

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Gameday: East Carolina Closes Home Schedule Against Houston And Tulane

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ashley McRae

Natalie Montini

I'Tiana Taylor

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