Gameday: ECU Hosts N.C. Central For Final Non-Conference Match

Match 12: N.C. Central
The Match	Sept. 25 vs. N.C. Central \\\ 4:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum \\\ Ticket Information
Information	2018 Fact Book \\\ 2018 Prospectus \\\ Match Notes
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ #WeUp

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU wraps up its non-conference schedule Tuesday afternoon with a matchup against in-state opponent N.C. Central. First serve inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum is scheduled for 4 p.m.

To assist with Hurricane Florence relief efforts, fans can obtain free admission to all home athletic events this week by donating items to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Water and beverages are currently the items most in need, but a full list of approved items can be found here (PDF).

The Pirates hosted Cincinnati in their most recent match Friday, falling to the Bearcats in three sets. Junior middle blocker Toya Osuegbu paced ECU (7-4, 0-1 AAC) with six kills and four blocks while junior libero Maggie Hallow collected 12 digs. The Bearcats hit .417 in the match on the strength of 53 kills and held the Pirates to a .126 percentage with 23 kills. Cincinnati also held the upper hand in digs (46-36), but ECU ended up with one more total block (4.0-3.0).

Freshman outside hitter Natalie Tyson leads the Pirate offense with an average of 2.87 kills per set and has racked up a team-high 101.5 points. She is one of five ECU players averaging at least 2.06 kills per set. Freshman middle blocker S'mara Riley paces the team in both hitting percentage (.274) and blocks per set (0.88) while Hallow is tops on the squad and eighth in the conference in digs per set (4.20). Sophomore setter Shelby Martin ranks fourth in the league with an average of 8.89 assists per set.

As a team, the Pirates are averaging 12.37 kills, 11.40 assists, 1.37 aces, 15.69 digs and 1.87 blocks per set as well as hitting .191. ECU is limiting opposing offenses to a .171 hitting percentage.

Scouting N.C. Central
The Eagles are 2-8 overall after defeating Delaware State 3-0 and falling to Coppin State in five sets over the weekend at the Charm City Classic in Baltimore, Md. Morgan Goodwin leads NCCU on the offensive side of things with 74 kills (1.95 per set) and a .211 hitting percentage. Erika Ianovale anchors the back row, checking in with 157 digs (4.13 per set) while Goodwin is blocking 1.11 balls per set. N.C. Central averages 9.08 kills, 8.45 assists, 1.18 aces, 15.37 digs and 2.45 blocks per set.

Last Meeting (Sept. 2, 2018)
Durham, N.C. - ECU extended its winning streak to three, downing N.C. Central 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-22) inside McDougald-McClendon Arena. Bri Wood paced the offense with nine kills while adding five digs and three blocks and S'mara Riley continued her strong early-season play with eight kills, five blocks and a .438 hitting percentage. On the defensive end, Hallow collected a match-high 15 digs. Goodwin led NCCU with eight kills and Ianovale tallied 11 digs. ECU recorded 43 kills to Central's 32 and out-hit the Eagles .217 to .144. N.C. Central held a 9.0-7.5 advantage in total blocks while the Pirates out-dug the Eagles 45-39.

Up Next
ECU continues its homestand during the upcoming weekend, hosting Houston (Sept. 28) and SMU (Sept. 30) for a pair of AAC matches.

Gameday: ECU Hosts N.C. Central For Final Non-Conference Match

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Players Mentioned

Maggie Hallow

Shelby Martin

Toya Osuegbu

S'mara Riley

Natalie Tyson

Bri Wood

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