Gameday: Pirates Kickstart New Season At Southern Miss Classic

Matches 1-3: Southern Miss Classic
Schedule	Aug. 24 vs. Spring Hill College \\\ Noon \\\ Live Stats Aug. 24: vs. Alcorn State \\\ 8 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Aug. 25: at Southern Miss \\\ 8 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (C-USA TV)
Venue	Reed Green Coliseum
Information	2018 Fact Book \\\ 2018 Prospectus \\\ Match Notes
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ #WeUp

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After a breakthrough season in 2017, the ECU volleyball team begins a new campaign this weekend when it travels to Mississippi for the Southern Miss Classic. The Pirates will face Spring Hill College, Alcorn State and host Southern Miss during the two-day event.

ECU accrued a 22-11 overall record and 13-7 mark in American Athletic Conference play last season, marking the first winning season for the program since 2006 and the first 20-win season since 2005. The Pirates return four starters from last year's squad, including AAC Freshman of the Year and setter Shelby Martin, and have reinforced the roster with nine newcomers - five freshmen and four transfers to offset the graduation of a five-member senior class from 2017. Head Coach Julie Torbett is in her sixth season with ECU and became the program's all-time winningest head coach last year as well as securing her 400th career victory.

In terms of returning players, sophomore setter Shelby Martin earned 2017 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and second-team all-league honors after averaging 9.34 assists per set (1,084 total), ranking her sixth among AAC setters. She was also sixth in the league in assists per set (9.83) in conference matches. She ran an ECU offense that averaged 12.94 kills per set and turned in a .231 hitting percentage. Martin also produced eight double-doubles during the season – all of which occurred during conference play. She fell just three kills shy of the first recorded triple-double in program history Sept. 29 against SMU, notching seven kills, 49 assists and 11 digs in the narrow five-set loss to the eventual second-place Mustangs.

One of the emotional sparkplugs of the club returns in junior middle blocker Toya Osuegbu who led the Pirates in total blocks (140) and blocks per set (1.14) in 2017. She ranked second in the league in total blocks and fourth in blocks per set while tallying a career-high 10 blocks in the 3-0 victory over Cincinnati in the season finale - the second-most blocks in a three-set match in American Athletic Conference history. Osuegbu also notched a career-high 13 kills and hit .429 against SMU.

Wood played in 118 of 124 sets her freshman season, placing third on the squad in total kills (287) and kills per set (2.43). She tallied double-digit kills in 12 matches and exploded for a career-high 23 kills in a five-set win over Tulane on Oct. 13. Wood was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 9 after averaging 3.62 kills per set and 3.94 points per set while hitting .371 as ECU swept a pair of league matches on the road at Temple and Connecticut.

In Season Openers
ECU holds a 20-21 record in season openers dating back to a 3-2 victory over UNC Greensboro in the program's first-ever match. The Pirates are 4-1 in Torbett's five seasons, including a 3-0 sweep of William & Mary at the ECU Invitational in their first match of 2017.

Preseason Recognition
The American Athletic Conference coaches selected ECU seventh in the league's preseason poll, marking the highest prediction for the Pirates since joining the circuit in 2014. Sophomore setter Shelby Martin was named to the AAC Preseason Team - the first such selection for the program since Kelley Wernert was tabbed to the 2007 Conference USA Preseason Team.

About Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College is a NCAA Division II school that competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Badgers were 27-5 overall and 18-0 in league play in 2017 but were ineligible for postseason play due to still undergoing the transition period from NAIA to NCAA status. Spring Hill was selected second in the SIAC West Division preseason coaches poll while libero Cassidi Sterrett, outside hitter Randi De'Armitt and setter Emmarose Neibert were named to the preseason all-conference team. Sterrett led the SIAC in digs last year, recording 491 for an average of 4.63 digs per set. De'Armitt served up a team-high 65 aces in 2017 with 230 digs while Neibert issued 636 assists (6.0 per set) with 19 aces during her freshman campaign. Peggy Martin is in her 10th season as head coach of the Badgers and owns a 245-60 overall record with the program.

A Look At Alcorn State
Alcorn State recorded a 3-39 overall record and a 0-18 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play in 2017. The Lady Braves' three victories were over Concordia College (twice) and Mississippi College. Singryd Valadares, who was named to the 2018 SWAC Preseason Second Team, led Alcorn State with 235 kills and 49 total blocks in 2017. Fiapaipai Iosia returns for her sophomore season after leading the Lady Braves with 532 digs (3.83 per set). She was also second on the team with 129 kills (0.93 per set). Chelsey Lucas, the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 at Grambling State, is in her third season as head coach at Alcorn State.

Scouting Southern Miss
Southern Miss posted its fourth-straight 20-win season in 2017, accruing a 20-12 overall record and 9-5 mark in Conference USA (C-USA) play. The Golden Eagles reached the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament before falling to Western Kentucky in three sets. Kylie Grandy and Chandler Marshall combined for 736 kills to pace Southern Miss offensively while setter Sarah Bell racked up 1,286 assists on the way to AVCA Southwest Region Honorable Mention and C-USA First Team accolades. Natalie Druhan, who exhausted her collegaite eligibility at the end of the 2017 season, paced the club in digs with 419 for an average of 3.61 per set. Stephanie Radecki is in her first season as the head coach at Southern Miss after leading the program at North Alabama where she notched a 326-154 record and nine NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.

The Series: Spring Hill College
ECU and Spring Hill College will meet for the first time on the volleyball court Friday. The matchup also marks the first for the Pirates against a NCAA Division II program.

The Series: Alcorn State
ECU and Alcorn State have never faced off in volleyball. The Pirates have not played a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference since defeating Grambling State 3-0 (30-18, 30-16, 30-27) back in 2006 in Greenville.

The Series: Southern Miss
As former rivals in Conference USA, ECU and Southern Miss have met 22 times with the Golden Eagles taking 15 of those encounters - including the last 12 consecutively. The Pirates are 2-9 in Hattiesburg, last winning at Reed Green Coliseum Oct. 13, 2006 in five sets.

Non-Conference Note
The Pirates have enjoyed a great deal of success in non-conference matches since 2013, accruing a 45-18 record.

First Of All
In 2017, ECU posted a 17-5 record when winning the first set. Under Torbett, the Pirates are 60-18 when capturing the initial stanza. On five occasions last season, ECU rallied from a first set loss to emerge victorious (at USF/Tulsa/at Connecticut/Houston/at Houston).

ECU At-A-Glance
Record - 0-0 (.000) // AAC Record - 0-0 (.000) // Last 5 Matches - 0-0 (.000) // Last 10 Matches - 0-0 (.000) // Last 15 Matches - 0-0 (.000) // ECU will play the 158th match of the Julie Torbett era when it opens the 2018 campaign Friday against Spring Hill College // The Pirates' all-time record stands at 499-780 beginning their 42nd season of competition.

Up Next
Following the Southern Miss Classic, ECU will head to Cookeville, Tenn. Aug. 31-Sept. 1 for the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by Tennessee Tech University. The Pirates will face off with Hampton, USC Upstate and the host Golden Eagles during the two-day event before wrapping up the weekend Sunday (Sept. 2) with a non-conference match at N.C. Central.

Gameday: Pirates Kickstart New Season At Southern Miss Classic

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Players Mentioned

Shelby Martin

Toya Osuegbu

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