Gameday: ECU Faces AAC Road Challenges At Wichita State And Tulsa

Matches 17-18: at Wichita State and Tulsa
The Matches	Oct. 12 at Wichita State \\\ 8:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Oct. 14 at Tulsa \\\ 2:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venues	Koch Arena \\\ Reynolds Center
Information	2018 Fact Book \\\ 2018 Prospectus \\\ Match Notes
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ #WeUp

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Off to its best-ever start to a conference season, ECU closes a four-match road swing at defending American Athletic Conference champion Wichita State and Tulsa.

The Pirates extended their winning streak to five last weekend, picking up four-set victories at Connecticut and Temple. Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Kleinman notched a career-high 19 kills Sunday against the Owls and leads a balanced ECU offense that is hitting .217 and averaging 12.80 kills per set. She is putting up 2.60 kills per set as one of five players averaging at least 2.06. Sophomore setter Shelby Martin fell just two kills shy of a triple-double Sunday and ranks third in the league with an average of 9.28 assists per set. Defensively, junior libero Maggie Hallow checks in at 4.20 digs per set - a mark that leads the team and ranks eighth in the conference.

Defense has been the calling card for the Purple and Gold this season as the Pirates rank second in the conference and 39th nationally in opposing hitting percentage – limiting foes to .167 efficiency. ECU also racked up a season-best 14 blocks in the win at Connecticut last Friday.

The Pirates look to pick up their first-ever win over Wichita State as the Shockers are the only team remaining in the league ECU hasn't beaten.

Last Time Out
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - For the second time in three matches, sophomore outside hitter Sydney Kleinman set a career high offensively as her 19-kill performance lifted ECU to a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-22) American Athletic Conference victory at Temple. Kleinman played a great all-around match as she added 10 digs for her first double-double of the season and committed just two attacking errors in 33 attempts to end up with a .515 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Toya Osuegbu also reached double digits in the kill column with 12 and hit a solid .350 on 20 attempts. On the defensive end, junior libero Maggie Hallow collected a career-best 22 digs and was one of four players in double figures in the category. Sophomore setter Shelby Martin continued to flirt with a triple double, notching 47 assists, 10 digs and eight kills as well as a .385 hitting percentage. At the net, freshman middle blocker S'mara Riley capped an impressive weekend with nine kills, four blocks and a .444 hitting mark. Iva Deak paced the Owls (4-13, 1-4 AAC) with 10 kills and a .450 hitting percentage while Mia Heirakuji pulled up a team-best 15 digs. The Pirates (12-4, 4-1 AAC) were extremely efficient on the offensive end, tallying 63 kills with only 16 errors for a .343 hitting percentage. ECU also held the upper hand in digs (59-53) and total blocks (5.0-2.0).

About Wichita State
Wichita State split a pair of four-set road matches last weekend, beating USF in Tampa before falling to UCF in Orlando. The Shockers enter Friday's match with an 8-8 overall record and 3-2 mark in American Conference play. Megan Taflinger has been the top offensive performer for Wichita State this season, averaging 3.08 kills per set. On the defensive end, Georgia Civita ranks first in the AAC and third in the nation in digs per set (6.02). The Shockers finished a perfect 20-0 in their first season in the league in 2017 and were selected first in this year's preseason AAC coaches poll. Wichita State took it first-ever loss in American Conference play last weekend when it dropped a five-set decision at Tulsa - a match that featured a 41-39 first-set score.

Scouting Tulsa
Tulsa is 12-5 overall and 4-1 in AAC matches after downing USF 3-1 and losing to UCF 3-1 last weekend. The Golden Hurricane scored perhaps their biggest win of the season when they handed Wichita State its first-ever American Athletic Conference loss Sept. 29. Emily Thorson, who was named to the AAC Preseason Team, paces the Tulsa offense with 220 kills (3.49 per set) whlie fellow preseason team member Taylor Horsfall checks in with 5.79 digs per set. The Golden Hurricane pace the conference and are 11th nationally in digs per set (18.10).

The Series: Wichita State
The two matches between ECU and Wichita State in 2017 were the first two meetings between the programs in volleyball. The Shockers won both encounters in three sets.

The Series: Tulsa
Tulsa leads the series with ECU by a 17-2 count but the teams split the season series in 2017. The Pirates defeated the Golden Hurricane 3-1 in Greenville before Tulsa returned the favor with a 3-0 triumph over ECU at the Reynolds Center. The win for the Pirates snapped a 16-match losing streak in the series.

Up Next
ECU returns home Friday, Oct. 19 for an American Athletic Conference match versus current league leader UCF. First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

Gameday: ECU Faces AAC Road Challenges At Wichita State And Tulsa

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Players Mentioned

Maggie Hallow

Sydney Kleinman

Shelby Martin

Toya Osuegbu

S'mara Riley

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