Gameday: Volleyball Opens 2017 Campaign Hosting ECU Invitational

Friday, August 25

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

William & Mary

Tickets

Gameday: Volleyball Opens 2017 Campaign Hosting ECU Invitational

August 23, 2017 | Volleyball

Tournament Central Live Stats Live Video

Matches 1-3: ECU Invitational
Schedule	Aug. 25: Georgia State vs. Rutgers \\\ 4:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Aug. 25: William & Mary \\\ 7 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Aug. 26: Georgia State \\\ 10 a.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Aug. 26: Rutgers vs. William & Mary \\\ 12:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Aug. 26: William & Mary vs. Georgia State \\\ 4:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Aug. 26: Rutgers \\\ 7 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video
Venue	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Tournament Central	ECU Invitational \\\ Tickets
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Match Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted

Weekly Release No. 1 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The ECU volleyball team begins its fifth season under the direction of head coach Julie Torbett this weekend when the Purple and Gold hosts the ECU Invitational.

The Pirates welcome Georgia State, Rutgers and William & Mary to Minges Coliseum for the two-day round-robin event. After playing just 10 matches at home last year, ECU will host 18 matches in Greenville this season.

Admission to all matches Saturday is free of charge in conjunction with the "Meet the Pirates" event that will be held from 5-7 p.m. inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

The Pirates enjoyed their best season in a decade in 2016, finishing with a 15-15 overall record - the first non-losing ledger since 2006. ECU started the campaign with a 10-0 record, finishing with an unblemished non-conference mark for the first time in program history and producing the longest winning streak (10 matches) by any Pirate volleyball team.

ECU is tasked with replacing some key members of the 2016 squad, including outside hitter I'Tiana Taylor who played professionally in Dubai and is now competing with the U.S. Virgin Islands national team, but experience still remains on the roster.

Senior middle hitter Natalie Montini is a sparkplug in the lineup who averaged 2.25 kills and 0.95 blocks per set as a junior while classmate and defensive specialist Alex Jessett was a key asset to the back row in 2016. Sophomore Brandee Markwith stepped into the every day libero role her rookie season and ended up finishing seventh in the American Conference with an average of 4.15 digs per set while racking up the sixth-most digs in a single-season in program history (448). Additionally, senior outside hitter Ashton Mares – ECU's leading point scorer in 2015 - looks to recover from a season-ending injury that cut her 2016 campaign short while sophomore Toya Osuegbu returns as an option in the middle and senior outside hitter Lael Ceriani will compete for a spot in the starting lineup.

A number of newcomers have arrived in Greenville to complement the returners. Freshman outside hitter Stephie Andrušková, who hails from Slovakia, is the first international student-athlete to suit up for the program. She competed for VKP Bratislava – the most successful volleyball club in Slovakia with 11 national championships since 1993. Another bright prospect on the right side is freshman Bri Wood who earned honorable mention All-America honors by prepvolleyball.com.

The Pirates will also have a trio of new faces in the setter position in Buffalo transfer and junior Madison Clark, freshman Shelby Martin (Texas 5A First Team) and redshirt freshman Logan Smith. Freshman Kaiya Heyliger-Powell will provide a powerful option at the pins while sophomore transfer (West Virginia) defensive specialist Maggie Hallow and freshman defensive specialist Samantha Dunn add local flavor to the roster – both hailing from Greenville.

Senior defensive specialist Megan Williams and freshman middle hitter Sydney Hall round out one of the most versatile rosters in recent memory, giving Torbett the ability to run a bevy of different lineups and rotations.

Looking At Georgia State
Georgia State posted a 10-18 overall record in 2016 as well as a 6-10 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. The Panthers feature a young squad for the upcoming season as 11 of the 17 student-athletes on the roster are underclassmen. Georgia State is tasked with replacing its two top hitters from last year as Eliza Zachary and Kristina Stinson graduated after combining for 467 kills. The Panthers do return starting setter Sarah Renner (898 assists) and defensive standout Celeste Friesen (407 digs). As a team last year, Georgia State averaged 11.25 kills, 10.49 assists, 1.61 aces, 14.47 digs and 1.45 blocks per set while turning in a .148 hitting percentage. The Panthers are led by fourth-year head coach Sally Polhamus who served as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator at the University of Florida from 2011-13.

Scouting Rutgers
Rutgers notched a 4-29 overall record a season ago which included an 0-20 showing in one of the top volleyball conferences in the nation - the Big Ten. Rising senior outside hitter Meme Fletcher tallied a team second-best 214 kills in 2016 while then freshman Karysa Swackenberg collected a squad-high 309 digs. Other returnees of note include Jasmine Stackhouse (1.15 blocks per set) and Megan Sharkey (4.83 assists per set). Collectively, the Scarlet Knights averaged 9.84 kills, 9.08 assists, 0.94 aces, 9.82 digs and 2.34 blocks per set to go along with a .147 hitting percentage. Rutgers is under the direction of head coach C.J. Werneke who is in his 10th season as the program's head coach following a successful stint at Fairfield where he directed the Stags to four consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season titles.

The Book On William & Mary
William & Mary ended the 2016 campaign with an 8-21 overall record and 2-14 mark in Colonial Athletic Association action. The Tribe notched a 6-7 non-conference ledger that included a road victory over Clemson. William & Mary returns a number of experienced players, including Casey Foote (292 kills), Sydney Biniak (284 kills), Autumn Brenner (837 assists) and Sara Zumbach (398 digs). As a team, the Tribe averaged 12.03 kills, 11.23 assists, 1.15 aces, 16.42 digs and 1.71 blocks per set as well as sporting a .188 hitting percentage. Melissa Ferris is in her second season as William & Mary's head coach. She arrived in Williamsburg following 12 years as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Rice where she put together five nationally-ranked recruiting classes.

The Series: Georgia State
ECU and Georgia State have met three times on the volleyball court with the Pirates winning two of the matchups, including a 3-1 victory just last season in the championship match of the Georgia State Invitational in downtown Atlanta. This weekend's contest will be the first between the schools in Greenville.

The Series: Rutgers
The series history between ECU and Rutgers is a short one as the Scarlet Knights emerged victorious over the Pirates in a pair of neutral site matchups in 2010 (Newark, Del.) and 1995 (Towson, Md.). Rutgers captured both decisions in four sets.

The Series: William & Mary
As former conference rivals in the CAA, ECU and William & Mary have faced off 44 times. The Tribe holds a 31-13 advantage in the series but the Pirates have won five of the last nine meetings - including a 3-0 victory in the final match of the 2015 Pirate Invitational.

In Front Of The Eight Ball
In 2016, ECU posted a 12-2 record when winning the first set. Under Torbett, the Pirates are 43-13 when capturing the initial stanza. On three occasions last season, ECU rallied from a first set loss to emerge victorious (at Bucknell/at Campbell/vs. Memphis).

Going The Distance
ECU did not buckle under pressure last year, winning all three of its five-set matches. Since 2013, the Pirates own a 17-11 record in contests that go the full five.

Non-Conference Note
The Pirates have enjoyed a great deal of success in non-conference matches since 2013, accruing a 36-14 record. ECU has won its last 11 non-league affairs, dating back to a 3-2 victory over Charleston Southern Sept. 19, 2015 at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, S.C.

#AddedPow6r
The American Athletic Conference welcomed Wichita State into the fold over the summer, augmenting what is already an extremely strong volleyball league. The Shockers turned in a RPI of 35 last year and earned the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Along with Cincinnati (at large) and SMU (regular season champion), the AAC features three squads who made NCAA appearances in 2016.

Season tickets are currently on sale for the 2017 season. Single-game tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for youth (12 and under). Group tickets are available for groups of 20 or more at $2 per ticket. The Fall Sports Book contains 20 ticket vouchers that are valid at any ECU soccer or volleyball home match this season. Fall Books cost $40 and can be used throughout the season or to take a group to one event. To order individual, group or Fall Sports Book tickets, call the ECU Ticket Office at 252-7373-4500 or order online at ECUPirates.com.