ECU Hosts USF For Two-Match AAC Set

Matches 3-4: South Florida at East Carolina
The Matches	Feb. 18 \\\ 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Feb. 19 \\\ 2:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (Greenville, N.C.)
Statistics	East Carolina \\\ South Florida
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ #OnePirateNation #ECUVB

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina plays its first home matches since 2019 Thursday and Friday, hosting South Florida for a two-match American Athletic Conference series inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

Thursday's contest will be streamed live via ESPN+ while Friday's affair will be shown via Pirates All-Access. Chris Edwards has the call for the ESPN+ broadcast.

ECU opened league play with a pair of matches at defending regular season champion Cincinnati last week, falling in four sets in the opener before dropping the finale in three. The Pirates and Bearcats could not have played a much closer seven sets as both squads reached the 20-point plateau in each frame. East Carolina lost five of the seven sets by two points apiece.

Senior outside hitter Sydney Kleinman posted a pair of double-doubles against Cincinnati, averaging 4.86 kills and 2.86 digs per set. She leads the Pirates in kills (49) and kills per set (4.45) and is one of five ECU players putting up over three digs per set. Senior right side Bri Wood has also been an offensive force for the Pirates, averaging 3.82 kills per set with a team-best .261 hitting percentage. Additionally, senior setter Alisi Motu'apuaka checks in with per set averages of 9.82 assists and 3.73 digs. She has recorded a double-double in all three matches this season.

East Carolina has excelled defensively so far through three matches, holding its opponents to a .162 hitting percentage while posting an average of 18.27 digs per set – a mark that ranks third in the league. The Pirates also boast a total of 2.09 blocks per set.

Scouting South Florida
South Florida enters the day with a 3-3 overall record and 1-1 mark in AAC play after splitting a pair of home matches with Temple last week. The Bulls won the opener in five sets (25-22, 21-25, 6-25, 26-24, 17-15) before dropping the finale in four (25-20, 20-25, 26-28, 18-25). South Florida has yet to play a match outside of Tampa this season.

Marta Cvitkovich is averaging a team-best 4.00 kills per set while Makayla Washington has racked up a .326 hitting percentage and 0.85 blocks per set. Maria Idjilov runs the Bulls' 5-1 offense and is putting up 10.38 assists per set as well as 2.23 digs per set.

Jolene Shepardson is in her first season as head coach at USF following six seasons as the head coach at San Jose State. Shepardson was a collegiate player for the Bulls, helping them to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2000 and 2002.

The USF Series
East Carolina trails South Florida in the all-time series by a 10-6 margin, but the Pirates have beaten the Bulls in four of the last six meetings including a season series sweep in 2019. ECU knocked off USF 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-14) in Greenville before picking up a 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 13-25, 25-19) victory later in the campaign in Tampa. The Pirates are 3-5 against the Bulls at Minges Coliseum.

Up Next
East Carolina steps out of AAC play Feb. 28 for a non-conference match versus North Carolina. The Pirates and the Tar Heels will match up inside Minges Coliseum that day beginning at 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Kleinman

Alisi Motu'apuaka

Bri Wood

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