East Carolina Visits Memphis And SMU

Matches 20-21: at Memphis and SMU
Coverage	Oct. 29 \| at Memphis \| 7:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Oct. 31 \| at SMU \| 2:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch
Venues	Larry O. Finch Center (Memphis, Tenn.) Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas)
Statistics	East Carolina \\\ Memphis \\\ SMU
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ #ECUVB #ChasingPerfection

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina begins the second half of its American Athletic Conference schedule on the road this weekend, facing off against Memphis Friday at 7 p.m. and SMU Sunday at 2 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live via ESPN+

The Pirates (8-11, 4-6 AAC) split a pair of five-set decisions last weekend in Greenville, falling to Tulane before rallying to upset then second-place Houston. ECU was down two sets to none in each contest. East Carolina enters the week in eighth place in the American Conference standings, just two matches back of Tulsa and SMU who are 6-4.

In their most recent encounters with SMU and Memphis in Greenville Oct. 1 and 3, the Pirates fell to the Mustangs in three before rebounding with a sweep of the Tigers.

According to the conference-only matches statistical rankings, ECU checks in sixth in opposing hitting percentage (.218), digs per set (14.92) and service aces per set (1.13). Individually, senior outside hitter Sydney Kleinman is third in kills per set (4.32) and points per set (4.98). She is also only 102 kills away from 1,000 for her career.

Senior outside hitter Bri Wood made some history last Friday, surpassing the 1,000-dig plateau. She is the sixth player in program history to record 1,000 kills and digs.

The Competition
Memphis (9-13, 2-8 AAC) begins the weekend in ninth place in the AAC standings – two matches back of East Carolina. The Tigers knocked off South Florida in five sets at home last Friday before suffering a sweep at the hands of UCF Sunday. Memphis is seventh among the American Conference circuit in blocks per set (1.92) and digs per set (14.92) in league matches only. Miaya Smith paces the club in kills (212) while Bailey Houlihan has anchored the back row with 351 total digs.

SMU (10-10, 6-4 AAC) is locked in a tie with Tulsa for fifth place after falling to UCF in four and defeating South Florida 3-1 last weekend at home. Bria Merchant was tabbed to the league's weekly honor roll, averaging 4.43 digs per set against the Knights and Bulls. In conference matches only, the Mustangs are first in kills per set (14.34) and second in hitting percentage (.262), assists per set (12.87) and digs per set (16.61). Kaylyn Winkler is hitting a league-best .449 in AAC matches.

The Memphis Series
East Carolina trails Memphis in the series between the programs 22-10. The Pirates have captured four of the last six encounters including this season's earlier 3-0 win in Greenville.

The SMU Series
SMU leads the series with East Carolina by a 16-5 margin and has won 15 of the last 16 meetings. The most recent ECU victory occurred in 2018 in Greenville when the Pirates downed the Mustangs 3-1 at Minges Coliseum.

Up Next: ECU returns home next weekend for American Athletic Conference matches against South Florida and UCF.

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Kleinman

Bri Wood

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