ECU Kicks Off Fall Campaign In The Triangle

Matches 1-3: Wofford/NC State/North Carolina
Coverage	Sept. 3 \\\ vs. Wofford \\\ 1:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Sept. 4 \\\ at NC State \\\ Noon \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Sept. 4 \\\ at North Carolina \\\ 7:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, N.C.) Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Statistics	East Carolina \\\ Wofford \\\ NC State \\\ North Carolina
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ #OnePirateNation #ECUVB

Weekly Release No. 1 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina begins its second season under Adler Augustin's direction Friday when the Pirates face off against Wofford in a neutral site match at the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. ECU will then tangle with NC State Saturday at Noon before heading to Chapel Hill later that evening for a match against North Carolina.

The Pirates were slated to start the campaign last Friday at Liberty before COVID-19 concerns forced the teams to cancel the contest.

During the abbreviated 2021 spring campaign - which featured a schedule that enumerated just 12 matches as well as a scaled back NCAA Tournament - the Purple and Gold put together a 4-8 overall record and 1-7 American Athletic Conference mark. Among the victories included a sweep of the North Carolina Tar Heels in Greenville.

While the fall roster features 11 newcomers, the Pirates do welcome back their top-three point scorers from the spring, including preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection Bri Wood who is on the cusp of becoming the sixth player in program history to record 1,000 career kills and digs. She collected her 1,000th kill in an ECU sweep of Temple back in March. Classmate and outside hitter Sydney Kleinman sits just 259 kills away from her 1,000th in an East Carolina uniform.

Fourth-year senior outside hitter Natalie Tyson was the third-leading scorer for ECU just a few months ago and was one of five Pirates to play in all 47 sets. She tallied 119.5 points on the strength of 105 kills (2.23 per set) while finishing the season with four double-doubles. Classmate and setter Janiece Jefferies is back in fold as well and will continue to vie for a spot in the starting lineup. She was tabbed the AAC Defensive Player of the Week March 22 after producing career highs in assists (29) and digs (25) in a five-set win over Davidson.

The newest crop of Pirates to call Greenville home is a big one with 11 newcomers set to don the Purple and Gold for the first time in 2021. Kianie Cummings, a 6-4 middle blocker who played for Florida SouthWestern State in 2019, is the lone transfer in the group. She helped the Buccaneers to 16 wins and a fourth-place finish at the FCSAA State Tournament during the program's inaugural season. East Carolina has added some height into the mix with its 10-member freshman class, including 6-5 middle blocker Amelia Davis (Denver, Colo.) and 6-3 right side Sophia Kruczko (Cary, N.C.).

The back row spots are up for grabs with a promising crew of underclassmen ready to make their marks. Sophomore Sariah Schulteis played in eight matches during the spring while freshmen Tia Shum (London, Ontario), Anaiah Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) and Alex Singleton (Spring, Texas) will provide some options defensively. East Carolina also welcomes an exciting duo of freshmen setters in Payton Evenstad (Fairibault, Minn.) and Kenzie Beckham (Austin, Texas).

Returning to a more familiar scheduling format, ECU will host 13 matches inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as part of its 2021 fall competition slate. The Pirates will face off against Atlantic Coast Conference members North Carolina and NC State, as well as regional opponents Coastal Carolina, UNCW and Appalachian State, during non-conference action before delving into American Athletic Conference play with a double round-robin schedule. The league's regular season champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

A Look At Wofford
Wofford began its season last weekend at the FAU Invite, losing two of three matches in Boca Raton, Fla. The Terriers fell to North Florida 3-2 before bouncing back with a five-set win over Stony Brook and dropping the tournament finale in four to host Florida Atlantic. Meghan Yaffa was tabbed the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week, averaging 3.93 kills per set and hitting .359, while teammate Emily Hodsdon was selected the league's Setter of the Week on the strength of a 10.07 assists per set average (141 total). As a team, Wofford is putting up 12.43 kills, 11.43 assists, 1.43 aces, 10.71 digs and 1.57 blocks per set with a .258 hitting percentage. Lynze Roos is in her seventh season as the Terriers' head coach.

The Wofford Series
East Carolina has won three of five meetings with Wofford, but the Terriers have captured the last two encounters. The teams' most recent tussle occurred back on Sept. 19, 2015 when Wofford won a four-set decision at the South Carolina Invitational in Columbia.

Examining NC State
The Wolfpack came up empty during opening weekend, falling in all three matches at the Tennessee Classic in Knoxville. NC State started with a 3-0 loss to East Tennessee State before dropping a five-set marathon to Texas Tech and losing in three to the host Vols. As a unit, NCSU is averaging 13.73 kills, 12.82 assists, 1.27 aces, 17.09 digs and 1.27 blocks per set and checks in with a .187 hitting percentage. Taylor Rowland is the team leader in both kills (37) and kills per set (3.36). Luka Slabe is in his second season in charge of the Wolfpack and just recently helped lead the United States to the women's indoor volleyball gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The NC State Series
NCSU holds a commanding 36-5 advantage in the series with East Carolina, but the teams have split the last eight meetings. The Pirates emerged victorious in the last bout between the teams, erasing a 2-0 deficit to down the Wolfpack in five sets in Reynolds Coliseum back on Sept. 10, 2019.

Scouting North Carolina
The Tar Heels enjoyed a solid start to their campaign, winning all three matches at the SMU Doubletree Invitational. North Carolina swept Pacific and Stephen F. Austin before downing the host Mustangs in four sets in the tournament finale. Mabrey Shaffmaster is the leading scorer for UNC through the first weekend, producing 41.5 points thanks in large part to a team-best 38 kills (3.45 per set). The Tar Heels own some impressive collective numbers as they are putting up 14.45 kills, 13.45 assists, 1.09 aces, 16.36 digs and 2.23 blocks per set to go along with a .284 hitting percentage. Joe Sagula is in his 32nd year as head coach at North Carolina and has led the Tar Heels to over 600 victories.

The North Carolina Series
UNC holds a 38-5 advantage in the series with East Carolina. However, the Pirates got the best of the Heels in the spring and knocked off their neighbors to the west by a 3-0 score in Minges Coliseum.

Up Next
East Carolina takes on Coastal Carolina, Radford and UNCW next Thursday and Friday at the Chantlcleer Classic in Conway, S.C.

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Players Mentioned

Kenzie Beckham

Kianie Cummings

Amelia Davis

Payton Evenstad

Janiece Jefferies

Anaiah Jones

Sydney Kleinman

Sophia Kruczko

Sariah Schulteis

Tia Shum

Alex Singleton

Natalie Tyson

Bri Wood

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