East Carolina Begins NIVC Run Against The Citadel

2023 NIVC First Round: The Citadel at East Carolina \| Winthrop vs. Georgia Southern
Coverage	Dec. 1 \| Winthrop vs. Georgia Southern \| 2:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Dec. 1 \| The Citadel vs. East Carolina \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Dec. 2 \| First Round Winners \| 6:00 p.m.
Location (Venue)	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (7,100)
Tournament Central	2023 NIVC Bracket \| NIVC Tournament Central
Match Notes	East Carolina \| The Citadel \| Georgia Southern \| Winthrop
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #ECUVB #NoQuarter

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina volleyball team competes in the first postseason match in program history Friday evening, hosting Southern Conference regular season champion The Citadel in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the contest will stream live via ESPN+. Georgia Southern and Winthrop will face off in a first-round matchup at 2 p.m. as the winners from Friday's matches will play Saturday at 6 p.m. for the right to advance to the quarterfinals.

All seating is general admission (first come first served) and tickets are priced at $5. For Friday's first round, one ticket will allow entry for both matches. East Carolina students will be admitted free of charge by presenting their ECU 1 Cards at the gate. Fans can click here to purchase tickets or call the ECU Athletics Ticket Office at (252) 737-4500.

ECU (20-10) produced its first 20-win season since 2017 and just the fifth in school history with a 3-1 win at UTSA in the regular season finale. The Pirates finished 11-8 in American Athletic Conference play, marking the second time it has recorded double-digit league victories since joining the conference (13-7 in 2017). East Carolina also notched its first road win over a Power Five program since 2019, downing Virginia Tech in five sets in Blacksburg back on Sept. 16.

Sophomore outside hitter Angeles Alderete was named to the 2023 All-AAC First Team earlier this week. She led East Carolina in kills (348) and kills per set (3.11) while slotting second in digs (341) and digs per set (3.04). Alderete also tallied double-digit kills in 20 matches, including a season-high 21 at South Florida. In conference matches only, she was eighth in the league in kills per set (3.22) and produced 11 double-doubles.

Joining Alderete among the league leaders are sophomore middle blocker Carlia Northcross who ranks second in blocks per set (1.19) and senior setter Julianna Askew who is third in service aces per set (0.40). Collectively, East Carolina tops the conference and is 41st nationally in blocks per set (2.50) while sitting second in the league and 18th nationally in opposing hitting percentage (.161). The Pirates are also 41st among NCAA Division I clubs in total blocks (279.5).

Scouting The Citadel
The Citadel is making its second postseason appearance in program history (2021 NCAA Tournament) after putting together a 27-3 overall record and 14-2 mark in Southern Conference play to win the regular season championship. The top-seeded Bulldogs then fell to Samford in the league tournament quarterfinals. Greenville native Ali Ruffin was tabbed the league's Player of the Year while Belle Hogan earned Setter of the Year accolades and Jaelynn Elgert was selected the Libero of the Year. The Bulldogs boast six all-conference honorees in total. The Citadel ranks among the national statistical leaders in a number of categories, checking in at 11th in digs per set (17.15), 14th in total digs (1,972), 25th in kills per set (13.74) and 26th in total kills (1,580). Ruffin slots ninth in total kills (519), 10th in points scored (585.5) and 11th in kills per set (4.55) while Hogan is eighth in total assists (1,234) and 14th in assists per set (10.73).

The Citadel Series
East Carolina has won all three meetings with The Citadel. The teams last met on Sept. 9, 2017, in Greenville where ECU notched a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-5) victory as part of the Pirate Invitational.

About Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern (21-8) posted a 10-6 record in the Sun Belt Conference before bowing out in the conference tournament semifinals to South Alabama in three sets. Reagan Barth was named to the all-conference first team after leading the Eagles in kills, kills per set, points, points per set, aces and aces per set.

The Georgia Southern Series
East Carolina and Georgia Southern have split a pair of encounters in the all-time series between the programs. The Eagles got the better of the Pirates during the opening weekend of the 2023 season, recording a sweep in Statesboro back on Aug. 25. The only other matchup occurred Oct. 13, 1989, in Jacksonville, Fla., where ECU won a 3-0 decision.

Looking at Winthrop
Winthrop (14-13) finished second in the Big South Conference standings with a 12-2 record and advanced to the league tournament championship match where it fell to High Point 3-2. The Eagles put six players on the Big South All-Conference Teams, including first-team selection Brookelynn Thomas who ended up second in the league in points and fourth in hitting percentage.

The Winthrop Series
ECU holds a 9-8 lead in the all-time series with Winthrop, including a five-set loss to the Eagles in the teams' most recent meeting back on Sept. 9, 2017, in Greenville at the East Carolina Classic.

A December To Remember
Friday's first-round NIVC showdown with The Citadel marks the first time the Pirates have ever played in the month of December.

East Carolina At A Glance
Overall Record – 20-10 (.667) // AAC Record – 11-8 (.579) // Last Five Matches - 2-3 (.400) // Last 10 Matches – 4-6 (.400) // Last 15 Matches – 8-7 (.533) // ECU will play the 104th match of the Adler Augustin era when it hosts The Citadel Friday night. // The Pirates' all-time record stands at 576-864 with the program in its 46th season of competition.

Players Mentioned

Angeles Alderete

Julianna Askew

Carlia Northcross

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