Gameday: Volleyball Hosts In-State Foes For Non-Conference Doubleheader

Matches 11-12: N.C. Central and North Carolina A&T
The Matches	Sept. 19: vs. N.C. Central \\\ 4 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina A&T \\\ 7 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Live Video
Venue	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Tickets	E CU Online Ticket Center
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Match Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted

Weekly Release No. 4 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Following a 10-day hiatus from competition, the ECU volleyball team welcomes N.C. Central and North Carolina A&T to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader. ECU will battle the Eagles at 4 p.m. before taking on the Aggies at 7 p.m.

Promotions
Two Tickets, One Price – fans can attend both matches for the price of one.

Last time it took the court, ECU dropped a tough five-set affair to Winthrop in the finale of the ECU Classic. The Pirates went 2-2 in the event with wins over Hampton and The Citadel in addition to a 3-2 loss to eventual tournament champion Gardner-Webb.

Senior outside hitter Lael Ceriani paces ECU offensively with an average of 3.75 kills per set, fourth in the American Athletic Conference, while she is also putting up 2.08 digs per set. She notched a career-high 22 kills against Winthrop. Sophomore libero Brandee Markwith anchors the back row with an average of 5.33 digs per set, ranking third in the AAC, and tallied a school-record 40 digs versus Gardner-Webb.

Scouting N.C. Central
N.C. Central is looking for its first win of the campaign after beginning the season with 10-straight losses. The Eagles came close to victory against Gardner-Webb Sept. 1 but saw a 2-0 lead slip away in a five-set defeat to the Runnin' Bulldogs. Da'Nesha Miller is averaging 2.03 kills per set as NCCU's top offensive performer while Bree Simmons sports a 3.82 digs per set mark to head up the defensive efforts. As a team, the Eagles are averaging 9.08 kills, 8.43 assists, 0.97 aces, 14.49 digs and 1.65 blocks per set to go along with a .092 hitting percentage.

The Series: N.C. Central
ECU has captured all six meetings with N.C. Central dating back to a two-set victory during the 1979 season. The teams last met Sept. 1, 2015 in Durham where the Pirates swept the Eagles 25-21, 25-22, 25-13.

Scouting North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T enters Tuesday's match following a four-set loss to Campbell on Sept. 12. The Aggies sport a 5-7 overall record with victories over Alabama A&M, Grambling State, Delaware State, Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State. Alyssa Pitt, who played her prep volleyball at nearby Farmville Central High School, paces the A&T offense with an average of 2.31 kills per set while Jasmine Lindor is hitting .302 in addition to blocking a team-high 0.95 balls per set. Defensively, Milanna Morgan owns the highest digs per set mark on the squad at 2.79. Collectively, the Aggies average 10.45 kills, 9.55 assists, 1.81 aces, 12.17 digs and 1.90 blocks per set and are hitting .167 against their opponents.

The Series: North Carolina A&T
ECU has recorded six-straight sweeps in the series and is 15-4 all-time against North Carolina A&T. The Pirates won last season's battle in Greensboro by set scores of 28-26, 25-23 and 25-18.

News and Notes

Head coach Julie Torbett collected her 399th career victory in the sweep of The Citadel.
The Pirates picked up a season-high 10 aces against Winthrop.
ECU has swept five of its 10 opponents in 2017.
Markwith ranks third in the AAC and 27th nationally in digs per set.
The Pirates will enter conference play with a non-losing non-conference record for the fifth-straight season.

Up Next
ECU heads down to Florida next weekend for its first two American Athletic Conference matches of the season. The Pirates will face UCF in Orlando Friday at 7 p.m. before battling USF in Tampa Sunday at Noon.

Gameday: Volleyball Hosts In-State Foes For Non-Conference Doubleheader

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Players Mentioned

Lael Ceriani

Brandee Markwith

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Gameday: Volleyball Hosts In-State Foes For Non-Conference Doubleheader

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Players Mentioned

Lael Ceriani

Brandee Markwith

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