Gameday: ECU Set To Challenge Memphis and No. 21 Wichita State

Matches 21-22: at Memphis and Wichita State
The Matches	Oct. 20: at Memphis \\\ 8 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Oct. 22: at Wichita State \\\ 2 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video \\\ Listen
Venue	Elma Roane Fieldhouse \\\ Koch Arena
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Match Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted

Weekly Release No. 9 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU takes its five-match winning streak on the road this weekend, closing the first half of its American Athletic Conference slate at Memphis and No. 21 Wichita State.

The Pirates defeated Tulane and Houston last Friday and Sunday in Greenville to stay in a third-place tie in the league standings with Cincinnati and Temple.

Memphis recorded its first victory in AAC play Tuesday, defeating Tulane in five sets in New Orleans. Conversely, the nationally-ranked Shockers have yet to lose a conference match after downing SMU and Tulsa at home last weekend.

ECU has enjoyed success away from home this season, winning four of five true road contests. The Pirates own victories on the home courts of Stetson, USF, Temple and UConn while dropping a 3-2 decision at UCF.

Looking At Memphis
After its win at Tulane Tuesday, Memphis holds an 8-12 overall record and 1-7 mark in American Conference play. Tai Bierria leads the Tiger offensive charge with a 2.73 kills per set average as well as ranking third on the squad in digs per set (2.86). Defensively, Brianna Kadiku is averaging a squad-best 1.03 blocks per set while Alyssa Kronberg paces the team in digs per set (4.17). Collectively, Memphis averages 12.14 kills, 11.53 assists, 1.28 aces, 15.91 digs and 2.15 blocks per set. Last season, the teams split a pair of matches with the Pirates downing the Tigers in five in Greenville and Memphis sweeping ECU in the Bluff City.

The Series: Memphis
Memphis leads the series over ECU 20-6. However, the Pirates have captured three of the last five meetings and are 3-3 against the Tigers since joining the American Conference.

Scouting Wichita State
Wichita State, ranked No. 21 this week by the AVCA, enters its Friday night showdown with Cincinnati owning a 16-3 overall record and 8-0 AAC mark. The Shockers took care of SMU and Tulsa last weekend at home, beating the Mustangs in four sets before sweeping the Golden Hurricane in the Havoc in the Heartland matchup. Tabitha Brown and Abbie Lehman have been the top offensive performers for Wichita State, averaging 3.82 and 3.24 kills per set respectively. On the defensive end, Lehman is putting up a team-best 1.24 blocks per set while Giorgia Civita ranks second in the conference in digs per set (5.52). As a unit, the Shocker side averages 14.20 kills, 13.30 assists, 0.95 aces, 16.94 digs and 2.53 blocks per set to go along with a .279 hitting percentage. Wichita State paces the American in hitting percentage, opposing hitting percentage, assists per set, kills per set and blocks per set.

The Series: Wichita State
Sunday's contest marks the first-ever matchup between ECU and Wichita State in volleyball. The Shockers moved to the American Athletic Conference prior to this season following a stint in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Leftovers From Sunday's Victory Over Houston
The five-match conference winning streak is the longest for the Pirates since the 2006 squad captured eight-straight victories as a member of Conference USA … ECU improved to 9-4 at home in 2017 and kept the Cougars winless (0-6) on the road … The Pirates won their third-straight and five of the last seven in the series with Houston who now leads it 16-6 … ECU is off to its best start to a conference season since 2000 when that squad began its Colonial Athletic Association slate by winning six of the first eight matches … Head coach Julie Torbett needs just three victories to become the winningest head coach in program history … The Pirates are one triumph away from matching last season's total of 15.

ECU At-A-Glance
Record - 14-6 (.700) // AAC Record - 6-2 (.750) // Last 5 Matches - 5-0 (1.000) // Last 10 Matches - 8-2 (.800) // Last 15 Matches - 11-4 (.733) // ECU will play the 145th match of the Julie Torbett era when it takes on Memphis Friday night // The program's all-time record stands at 491-775 in its 41st season of competition.

Up Next
ECU continues its five-match road swing next weekend, traveling to Tulsa and SMU for a pair of league contests.

Gameday: ECU Set To Challenge Memphis and No. 21 Wichita State

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