Gameday: East Carolina Concludes Regular Season In Greenville

Matches 29-30: Cincinnati and Wichita State
The Matches	Nov. 15 vs. Cincinnati \\\ 7:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free) Nov. 17 vs. Wichita State \\\ Noon \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free)
Venue	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (Greenville, N.C.)
Information	2019 Fact Book \\\ 2019 Prospectus
Social Media	@ECUVB (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ #GoPirates

Weekly Release No. 13

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Looking to clinch its second 20-win season in the last three years, East Carolina wraps up regular season play with a pair of American Athletic Conference home matches against Cincinnati and Wichita State. ECU will honor its lone senior, middle blocker Toya Osuegbu, prior to Sunday's match.

East Carolina is 19-9 overall and 6-8 in conference play. If the Pirates can win one of their two matches this weekend, they will end the regular season with the fewest losses in a campaign in program history.

The Pirates split on the road last weekend, falling to UCF in three sets in Orlando on Friday before bouncing back with a 3-1 victory at USF in Tampa on Sunday.

Junior Bri Wood, who has posted a team-best 15 double-doubles this season, leads the squad with 354 kills (3.31 per set) and is second in total digs (322), digs per set (3.01) and hitting percentage (.287). Classmate Sydney Kleinman is averaging a team-best 3.41 kills per set. On the defensive end, redshirt junior Brandee Markwith ranks fifth in the conference in digs per set (4.54) and has currently notched the fifth most total digs (486) in a single season in school history. Senior Toya Osuegbu owns 328 career blocks which total the eighth most in the program annals.

As a team, East Carolina ranks among the nation's best in total kills (18th/1,409), team assists (20th/1,299) and team digs (41st/1,687). Markwith is 45th nationally in total digs.

ECU is 3-3 against AAC opponents at home in 2019 with victories over USF, Connecticut and Temple. Overall, the Pirates are 8-3 inside Minges Coliseum this season.

Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati is in prime position to claim the No. 1 seed in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship, entering the weekend with a 22-5 overall record and 13-1 league mark. The Bearcats defeated USF last Friday in Tampa before vanquishing UCF Sunday in Orlando. Jordan Thompson, the nation's leader in kills per set at 6.34, also paces the NCAA in total kills (615). Maria Mallon is also a top all-around option for Cincinnati, ranking second on the squad in total kills (344), kills per set (3.78), total digs (280) and digs per set (3.08). In the back row, Mackenzie Conner has collected a team-high 282 digs (3.48 per set) while Adria Oliver is tops on the club with 58 total blocks (0.62 per set). As a team, the Bearcats average 15.13 kills, 14.21 assists, 1.85 aces, 14.46 digs and 1.41 blocks per set and are hitting .294. Cincinnati's lone loss in AAC play occurred back on Oct. 18 when the Bearcats were swept by Tulane in New Orleans.

About Wichita State
Wichita State ends its 2019 season this weekend, hosting Tulsa Friday evening before making the trip to Greenville for Sunday's match. The Shockers are 7-19 overall and 4-10 in American Conference play. Megan Taflinger leads the way on offense for Wichita State, having racked up team-best 263 kills (2.86 per set). Defensively, Kara Bown owns a team-high 319 digs (3.54 per set) while Emma Wright has collected a squad-best 71 total blocks (0.99 per set). Collectively, the Shockers are averaging 11.40 kills, 10.74 assists, 0.99 aces, 14.72 digs and 2.12 blocks per set to go along with a .178 attacking percentage. Wichita State is 3-8 in away matches this season with victories at Memphis, Connecticut and Tulane.

The Cincinnati Series
East Carolina trails Cincinnati by a 14-3 margin in the all-time series between the programs. The Bearcats swept the Pirates earlier this season at Fifth-Third Arena and have won the last three meetings.

The Wichita State Series
ECU seeks its first-ever win over Wichita State when the teams match up Sunday. The Pirates have dropped all four encounters with the Shockers since Wichita State joined the conference prior to the 2017 season.

Gameday: East Carolina Concludes Regular Season In Greenville

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Kleinman

Brandee Markwith

Toya Osuegbu

Bri Wood

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