East Carolina Closes 2021 Home Slate

Matches 26-27: Tulsa and Wichita State
Coverage	Nov. 19 \| vs. Tulsa \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Nov. 21 \| vs. Wichita State \| Noon \| Live Stats \| Watch
Promotions	Friday: Paint It Black Sunday: Senior Day
Venue	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (Greenville, N.C.)
Statistics	East Carolina \\\ Tulsa \\\ Wichita State
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ #ECUVB #ChasingPerfection

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina plays its final two home matches of the 2021 fall season this weekend when it welcomes Tulsa and Wichita State to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Friday and Sunday respectively. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Pirates (9-16, 5-11 AAC) enter Friday's contest tied for eighth in the American Athletic Conference standings. ECU dropped a pair of matches on the road last weekend at Houston and Tulane – falling to the Cougars in three sets and the Green Wave in four.

In its previous match this season against the Shockers, East Carolina held a two sets to one lead before seeing Wichita State rally to take the match in five. The Pirates then took on the Golden Hurricane two days later, ending up on the wrong side of a 3-1 decision.

Natalie Tyson enjoyed a productive weekend offensively in the two matches with Houston and Tulane, averaging 4.00 kills per set and hitting .311 while also contributing 4.86 digs per set. Tia Shum, who collected a career-high 28 digs Sunday against the Green Wave, averaged a team-best 5.43 digs during the road swing.

The Competition
Tulsa (13-12, 8-8 AAC) split a pair of league affairs last weekend, losing to Wichita State 3-2 in the midweek on the road before bouncing back with a home sweep of Temple. Kayley Cassaday was tabbed to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll for her efforts, logging the fourth-most points per set (5.00) of any conference player. She registered 21 kills against the Shockers and 19 versus the Owls.

Wichita State (17-8, 11-5 AAC) has won three straight to move into third place in the league standings. The Shockers downed Tulsa in five sets during the midweek and disposed of Temple 3-0 just two days later. Morgan Stout was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week, leading The American Conference with 16 total blocks and 2.00 blocks per set.

The Tulsa Series
East Carolina trails Tulsa in the series between the programs 21-2. The Pirates' most recent victory over the Golden Hurricane occurred back on Oct. 1, 2017 in Greenville in four sets.

The Wichita State Series
Wichita State leads the series with East Carolina by a 6-0 margin and has dropped just three sets of the 21 contested.

Up Next
ECU wraps up the regular season next week with matches at Cincinnati (Wednesday) and Temple (Saturday).

Players Mentioned

Tia Shum

Natalie Tyson

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