ECU Hosts Tulsa And AAC Leader SMU As Calendar Turns To November

Matches 23-24: Tulsa/SMU
Schedule	Nov. 4: Tulsa \\\ 7 p.m. \\\ Greenville, N.C. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Nov. 6: SMU \\\ 1 p.m. \\\ Greenville, N.C. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video
Venue	Minges Coliseum
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Match Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted \\\ #14Strong \\\ #PirateNation

Weekly Release No. 11 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Heading down the home stretch of the regular season, East Carolina looks to avenge a pair of earlier losses to Tulsa and SMU as the Pirates host the Golden Hurricane and Mustangs Friday and Sunday at Minges Coliseum.

Promotions (Sunday)

Kid's Day – All kids receive free pom-poms and are invited to take part in face painting and decorating posters ... Kids 12 and under are also invited to participate in a postmatch "stay and play" with the team ... Kids can also receive free admission through a social media coloring contest.

Coverage: Live stats and a free video stream (no registration required) are available for both matches. Links can be accessed in the information box at the top of the page or through the volleyball page on www.ecupirates.com.

With eight matches to play, ECU (14-8, 4-8 AAC) finds itself in a tie for eighth place with Tulsa in the conference standings. The Pirates are only one match out of sixth - a spot occupied by both UConn and Tulane. East Carolina currently holds the tiebreaker with both squads thanks to earlier victories over the Huskies and Green Wave this season.

The Pirates look to bounce back from a tough weekend in Florida as they fell to USF 3-1 in Tampa Thursday before dropping a 3-0 decision to UCF in Orlando Saturday.

Senior setter Sabrina Gonzalez collected her American Athletic Conference-leading 14th double-double of the season at UCF, tallying 32 assists and 11 digs. She ranks fifth in the league and 64th nationally in assists per set (10.40). ECU's middle hitters, senior Ashley McRae and junior Natalie Montini, are tied for the team lead in blocks per set (1.06) – a mark good for third among AAC competitors.

Talking Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane (15-9, 4-8 AAC) arrives in Greenville with some momentum after scoring 3-1 and 3-0 home victories last weekend over Tulane and Houston respectively. Senior Erica Bohannon averages a team-best 3.70 kills per set while classmate Brooke Berryhill anchors the back row with an average of 5.18 digs per set. As a team, Tulsa leads the nation in digs per set with an 18.31 average. The Golden Hurricane leads the all-time series with the Pirates 15-1.

Last Meeting: Tulsa 3, East Carolina 1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-17) – Sept. 24, 2016 at Tulsa, Okla.

Scouting SMU: The Mustangs lead the AAC with an 11-1 conference record heading into its Friday evening showdown with second place Cincinnati (10-2). Redshirt junior Katie Hegarty paces the SMU offense to the tune of 3.83 kills per set while senior Janelle Giordano leads the league in blocks per set (1.38) and senior libero Morgan Heise tops the conference in digs per set (5.25). The Mustangs own an 11-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Purple and Gold.

Last Meeting: SMU 3, East Carolina 1 (25-16, 25-27, 26-24, 25-23) – Sept. 22, 2016 at Dallas, Texas

News and Notes

Tulsa and SMU are two of three teams the Pirates have not beaten since joining the AAC.
East Carolina's 3-0 victory at Houston marked the team's first ever sweep of an American Athletic Conference team on the road and just the third for ECU since joining the league prior to the 2014 season. Coupled with a four-set win at Tulane, the Pirates swept an AAC weekend away from home for the first time ever.
ECU's .348 hitting percentage in the victory at Houston was the highest ever for the Pirates in an AAC match.
After finishing ninth in the league in blocks per set in 2015, the Pirates lead the conference in overall matches with a 2.36 average. In AAC matches, ECU is second with an average of 2.35 per set. Junior middle hitter Natalie Montini ranks third in the conference in league matches, boasting a 1.15 mark.
East Carolina needs just two more victories this season to ensure its first winning record since the 2006 squad finished with a 19-12 mark. If the Pirates reach six wins in conference play, that total will represent the most for ECU since joining the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2014 season.
McRae is the program's current career leader in hitting percentage as she has compiled a .314 mark in three-plus seasons. Her .360 hitting percentage as a sophomore stands as the second highest in a single season in school history. She also needs just six blocks to take over seventh on the program career list.
Head Coach Julie Torbett, in her fourth season with East Carolina, is just eight 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 392 wins trail only Houston head coach Kaddie Platt.

Up Next: ECU hits the road again next weekend for a pair of AAC matches at UConn and Temple.

ECU Hosts Tulsa And AAC Leader SMU As Calendar Turns To November

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Players Mentioned

Sabrina Gonzalez

Ashley McRae

Natalie Montini

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ECU Hosts Tulsa And AAC Leader SMU As Calendar Turns To November

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sabrina Gonzalez

Ashley McRae

Natalie Montini

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