Gameday: Volleyball Continues Road Swing At Tulsa And SMU

Matches 23-24: at Tulsa and SMU
The Matches	Oct. 26: at Tulsa \\\ 8 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Oct. 28: at SMU \\\ 2 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video
Venue	Reynolds Center \\\ Moody Coliseum
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Match Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted

Weekly Release No. 10 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU heads west for the second-straight weekend, beginning the second half of its conference schedule with matches at Tulsa Thursday and SMU Saturday.

The Pirates (15-7, 7-3 AAC) swept Memphis last Friday before falling in three sets to then No. 21 Wichita State Sunday.

ECU currently stands in a tie with Cincinnati for fourth place in the league standings but the pair are just a match back of SMU and Temple for second with 10 to play. The Golden Hurricane and Mustangs split a pair of contests at Temple and Connecticut last weekend with both teams sweeping the Huskies and falling in four to the Owls.

The Pirates are 4-2 against conference foes on the road, winning at USF, Temple, Connecticut and Memphis while falling at UCF at Wichita State. ECU defeated Tulsa 3-1 and lost in five to SMU in Greenville earlier this season.

Senior outside hitter Lael Ceriani averages a team-best 3.22 kills per set and is one of four Pirate hitters putting up at least 2.00 kills per set. Senior middle hitter Natalie Montini paces the squad and is third in the AAC in hitting percentage at .330. Defensively, sophomore libero Brandee Markwith averages 5.20 digs per set while sophomore middle hitter Toya Osuegbu checks in at 1.05 blocks per set. Freshman setter Shelby Martin has produced a double-double in four-straight matches and leads the team with six this season.

ECU averages 13.10 kills, 12.11 assists, 0.98 aces, 15.87 digs and 2.18 blocks per set and ranks third in the league with a .234 hitting percentage.

Looking At Tulsa
Tulsa enters the weekend with a 10-12 overall record and a 4-6 mark in American Conference play following its 3-0 victory at Connecticut last Sunday. The Golden Hurricane are in a three-way tie with UCF and Houston for sixth place in the league standings. Emily Thorson leads the Tulsa offense and ranks third in the AAC with an average of 4.00 kills per set while Taylor Horsfall is putting up a conference-best 6.00 digs per set. As a unit, the Golden Hurricane average 12.21 kills, 11.45 assists, 1.01 aces, 17.01 digs and 1.78 blocks per set while hitting .184. Tulsa is holding its opponents to a league second-best .181 hitting percentage.

The Series: Tulsa
Tulsa enjoys a 16-2 advantage in the all-time series with ECU but the Pirates snapped a 16-match skid against the Golden Hurricane with a four-set victory earlier this season in Greenville.

Scouting SMU
SMU takes a 14-7 overall record and 8-2 American Conference mark into its Friday home match against Cincinnati. The Mustangs are locked in a two-way tie with Temple for second place in the league table. Lauren Mills paces the offensive efforts for SMU with an average of 3.54 kills per set while Montana Watts anchors the back row to the tune of 4.75 digs per set. Lexi Nordmann is also averaging 1.22 blocks per set. Collectively, the Mustangs average 13.53 kills, 12.75 assists, 1.02 aces, 17.44 digs and 2.36 blocks per set to go along with a .208 hitting percentage. SMU leads the league in digs per set while ranking third in the conference in kills per set, assists per set and blocks per set.

The Series: SMU
ECU holds a 4-13 record against SMU and has dropped the last 12 meetings to the Mustangs, winning just three sets during that stretch. The Pirates last defeated SMU 3-2 back on Oct. 26, 2008 in Greenville.

News and Notes
With the first half of American Conference play complete, the Pirates have won at least two sets against every league team except nationally-ranked Wichita State … ECU's 7-3 start in conference play is the best for the Pirates since the 2000 campaign … The Pirates need just two more victories in the last 11 matches to clinch their first winning season since 2006 … Head coach Julie Torbett is two victories away from becoming the winningest head coach in program history … ECU hit .227 against Wichita State and is only the seventh team to fire at a .200 clip or better against the Shockers this season ... Montini is on pace to finish her career among the top 10 in school history in both hitting percentage and total blocks ... Markwith currently owns the ninth highest single-season mark for total digs (432).

ECU At-A-Glance
Record - 15-7 (.682) // AAC Record - 7-3 (.700) // Last 5 Matches - 4-1 (.800) // Last 10 Matches - 7-3 (.700) // Last 15 Matches - 10-5 (.667) // ECU will play the 147th match of the Julie Torbett era when it takes on Tulsa Thursday night // The program's all-time record stands at 492-776 in its 41st season of competition.

Up Next
ECU plays its fifth-straight road match Tuesday, Oct. 31, when the Pirates travel to Durham for a non-conference contest against N.C. Central.

Gameday: Volleyball Continues Road Swing At Tulsa And SMU

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Players Mentioned

Lael Ceriani

Brandee Markwith

Shelby Martin

Natalie Montini

Toya Osuegbu

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