East Carolina Battles South Florida And UCF In The Sunshine State

Matches 19-20: at South Florida and UCF
Coverage	Oct. 14 \\\ at South Florida \\\ 7:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Oct. 16 \\\ at UCF \\\ Noon \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venues	The Corral (Tampa, Fla.) \| The Venue At UCF (Orlando, Fla.)
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram \\\ #ECUVB #NoQuarter

Weekly Release No. 8 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Armed with its longest conference winning streak since 2018, East Carolina hits the road for a pair of matches at South Florida and No. 24 UCF.

The Pirates and Bulls face off Friday (Oct. 14) at 7:30 p.m., while ECU takes on the Knights Sunday (Oct. 16) at Noon. Both contests will stream live via ESPN+.

The Pirates traveled to Philadelphia last Wednesday and defeated Temple in five sets before returning home Sunday to knock off Cincinnati 3-2. Coupled with a four-set victory over Tulane back on Oct. 2nd, ECU has won its last three matches.

East Carolina ranks second in the league and 78th nationally in blocks per set while slotting third among conference members in service aces per set. Individually, Angeles Alderete checks in 27th in the country in total kills (267) and 32nd in points (301.5). She is also fourth in the AAC in kills per set (3.81) and points per set (4.31). Payton Evenstad ranks third in the league in aces per set (0.37) while Shaylynn Hall is fourth in blocks per set (1.13) and Kenzie Beckham checks in at fourth in digs per set (3.84).

Beckham averaged 5.00 digs per set in the victories over Temple and Cincinnati, earning selection to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll. She logged a career-high 32 digs against the Owls.

About South Florida
Winless in its last five outings, South Florida brings a 6-10 overall record and 0-4 American Athletic Conference mark into the weekend. The Bulls encountered Tulane and Houston on the road last Friday and Sunday, dropping a pair of four-set decisions to the Green Wave and Cougars. South Florida has also fallen to SMU and Memphis. Amiree Hendricks-Walker ranks fifth in the conference in blocks per set (1.08) while CC Clausen, who recently became the program's career digs leader, is also fifth on the circuit in digs per set (3.69). The Bulls are under the direction of third-year head coach Jolene Shepardson who owns a 19-42 record at the institution.

The South Florida Series
East Carolina trails the all-time series with South Florida 12-8, but has captured four of the last six meetings. The Pirates swept the season series from the Bulls in the fall of 2021, recording a thrilling 3-1 win in Tampa before picking up a 3-1 victory in Greenville. ECU is 3-1 in its last four trips to The Corral while holding a 4-5 record against South Florida in nine away matches.

A Look At UCF
The nationally-ranked UCF side (13-1, 5-1) was handed its first loss of the season and in AAC play last Friday when Houston won an encounter of then league unbeatens in four sets at the Fertitta Center. The Knights bounced back with a sweep of Tulane Sunday. UCF leads the conference in a number of categories, including hitting percentage (.301), opponent hitting percentage (.173), kills per set (14.16), assists per set (13.16) and blocks per set (2.50). McKenna Melville, who has captured the last two American Athletic Conference Player of the Year awards, paces the American in kills per set (5.44).

The UCF Series
UCF leads the all-time series with East Carolina 23-10 and has won the last eight meetings. The Pirates last knocked off the Knights 3-1 in Greenville back on Nov. 5, 2017, as part of ECU's 22-win season. East Carolina has not beaten UCF in Orlando since 2015 and is 4-14 against the Knights in road matches. The Pirates won eight of the first 10 matches in the series from 1979-2009.

Up Next
East Carolina returns to the floor at Minges Coliseum for American Athletic Conference contests against Memphis (Oct. 21) and SMU (Oct. 23).

East Carolina Battles South Florida And UCF In The Sunshine State

Players Mentioned

Angeles Alderete

Kenzie Beckham

Payton Evenstad

Shaylynn Hall

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