ECU Christens Spring Campaign At N.C. A&T

Match One: East Carolina at North Carolina A&T
The Game	Feb. 5 \\\ 5:00 p.m. \\\ Watch
Venue	Moore Gymnasium (Greensboro, N.C.)
Statistics	East Carolina \\\ North Carolina A&T
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ #OnePirateNation #ECUVB

GREENVILLE, N.C. – It's been nearly 15 months since the East Carolina volleyball team last took the floor, but the Pirates are ready to kick off an untraditional spring competition season with a non-conference match at North Carolina A&T Friday afternoon.

First serve between ECU and the Aggies is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside Moore Gymnasium.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Adler Augustin, ECU returns four starters from 2019, including preseason All-AAC selection and senior right side Bri Wood. The Pirate roster is laden with experience in the form of five seniors and three juniors as well as redshirt sophomore middle blocker S'mara Riley who returns from injury after a strong debut year in 2018. Libero Camryn Allen joins the program following a solid three years at Towson while setter Alisi Motu'apuaka arrives in Greenville after three seasons at Bryant University.

Wood and senior outside hitter Sydney Kleinman paced the squad in total kills in 2019, putting up 369 and 354 respectively. ECU will have to contend with the losses of setters Shelby Martin (6.43 assists per set) and Marissa Harmon (4.46 assists per set) as well as libero Brandee Markwith (4.50 digs per set).

As part of its condensed schedule, East Carolina will only face the east division of the American Athletic Conference this season. The Pirates play each opponent twice in one location on consecutive days, hosting USF and Temple while traveling to Cincinnati and UCF. The top two teams in each division will qualify for the AAC Volleyball Championship in Cincinnati.

Scouting North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T enters the campaign as the favorite in the MEAC Southern Division. The Aggies made their first postseason tournament appearance in school history in 2019 when they earned an at-large bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship where they lost their opening round contest to Troy. North Carolina A&T finished the season at 16-15 overall and 13-1 in league play. Edie Brewer, the 2019 MEAC co-Player of the Year, was voted as MEAC Preseason Player of the Year when the awards were announced over the summer. Outside hitter Courteney Pitt also was named to the MEAC's Preseason All-Conference squad. Brewer became the first Aggie to receive American Volleyball Coaches Association honors as she was named all-South Region honorable mention last season. She led the MEAC and was second in the nation with eight triple doubles. Brewer recorded single-season career highs in kills (321), assists (654), digs (289) and hitting percentage (.268). Pitt set a personal-best last season with 384 kills (3.40 kills per set) to rank fourth in the MEAC.

The North Carolina A&T Series
East Carolina owns a 16-4 advantage in the series against North Carolina A&T. The Pirates have defeated the Aggies seven-straight times and have not dropped a set in any of those matches. The most recent encounter occurred back on Sept. 19, 2017 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. ECU is 8-2 against North Carolina A&T in Greenville.

In Season Openers
ECU holds a 22-21 record in season openers dating back to a 3-2 victory over UNC Greensboro in the program's first-ever match. The Pirates defeated George Mason in Fairfax to kick off the 2019 campaign, defeating the Patriots in three sets at the Recreation Athletic Complex.

Up Next: East Carolina opens AAC play with a two-match set at defending regular season champion Cincinnati Feb. 11-12.

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Players Mentioned

Camryn Allen

Marissa Harmon

Sydney Kleinman

Brandee Markwith

Shelby Martin

Alisi Motu'apuaka

S'mara Riley

Bri Wood

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