ECU Entertains AAC Foes Temple And Wichita State

Matches 17-18: East Carolina vs. Temple and Wichita State
Coverage	Oct. 18 \| vs. Temple \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Oct. 20 \| vs. Wichita State \| 12:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch
Venues	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (7,100) (Greenville, N.C)
Match Notes	East Carolina \| Temple \| Wichita State
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #ECUVB #NoQuarter

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Attempting to preserve its spotless record in Greenville, East Carolina hosts American Athletic Conference opponents Temple and Wichita State Friday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (Noon) inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

Friday's contest will stream live via ESPN+ with Patrick Johnson and Brittany Hoyt on the call while Sunday's affair can be seen through Pirates All-Access.

ECU (10-6, 3-3 AAC) dropped two on the road last weekend, falling to Tulane in five sets in New Orleans before dropping a three-set decision to Rice in Houston. The Pirates are in a three-way tie with Tulane and Memphis for sixth place in the AAC standings with the trio sitting just one match back of Tulsa, Wichita State and North Texas for third.

The East Carolina offense features a number of weapons as Fran McBride (2.81), Angeles Alderete (2.63) and Ellie Pate (2.56) all average over 2.00 kills per set and have combined for 451. The Pirates have played without the services of junior middle blocker Carlia Northcross for the entirety of conference play. Before her absence, she was hitting a sizzling .486 and averaging right at a block per set.

East Carolina has yet to taste defeat inside the friendly confines this season, having beaten North Carolina A&T, Texas A&M-Commerce, Western Carolina, UTSA and North Texas thus far. Moreover, the Pirates have dropped just two sets in those contests.

The Book On Temple
Temple (8-11, 1-5 AAC) looks to get back on track after dropping a pair of matches to UAB and Memphis on the road last weekend. The Owls' lone conference victory was a sweep of Florida Atlantic in Philadelphia as Temple owns additional AAC losses to Wichita State, Tulsa and South Florida. Taylor Davenport paces the league in points per set (4.89) and is second in kills per set (4.23) while Sydney Jones slots sixth in kills per set (3.28). Collectively, the Owls are tops in the conference in blocks per set (2.33) and third in aces per set (1.68). Temple enters Friday's affair in search of its first true road victory of the campaign as it is 0-7 away from McGonigle Hall.

The Temple Series
Despite trailing Temple 10-9 in the all-time series, East Carolina has had the better of the Owls recently. The Pirates have beaten Temple four consecutive times and in nine of the last 12 meetings. ECU swept the season series in 2023, picking up 3-2 and 3-0 victories on consecutive days in Philadelphia.

Examining Wichita State
One of the American Athletic Conference's top sides since joining the circuit in 2017, Wichita State (9-9, 4-2 AAC) is off to another strong start in 2024. The Shockers split a pair of outings last weekend, falling to current league leader South Florida at home Friday before rebounding with a reverse sweep of visiting Florida Atlantic Sunday. Sarah Barham is one of the top blockers in the conference, checking in fourth at 1.08 per set, while Izzi Strand runs the offense to the tune of 9.19 assists per set - also good for fourth in the league. Like East Carolina, Wichita State runs a fairly balanced offense with four hitters averaging over two kills per set in Morgan Stout (2.52), Alyssa Gonzales (2.45), Emerson Wilford (2.44) and Brooklyn Leggett (2.20).

The Wichita State Series
The Pirates have yet to solve the Shockers, having dropped all 10 matchups in the all-time series. The closest East Carolina came to picking up a victory was back on Oct. 15, 2021, when the Pirates let a 2-1 lead slip away in a five-set loss at Koch Arena.

1K/1K Club
Halfway through her third collegiate season, Alderete is within striking distance of joining the prestigious 1,000 kill and 1,000 dig club at East Carolina. She requires just 139 digs to reach the milestone after collecting her 1,000th kill in the win over North Texas. The most recent member of the program to register the achievement is Bri Wood who collected 1,303 kills and 1,144 digs during her five seasons (2017-21) wearing the Purple and Gold. Aptly, Wood currently serves as ECU's Director of Student-Athlete Development and Life Skills.

11th Season in The American
East Carolina is in its 11th volleyball season as a member of the American Athletic Conference after spending 13 years as part of Conference USA. The Pirates ended up in a tie for sixth place in the conference standings in 2023 - their highest overall finish in the league since taking fourth place in 2017. ECU also collected double-digit conference wins for the second time in The American.

Up Next
East Carolina faces a quick turnaround, traveling to Charlotte Wednesday for a league contest with the 49ers. First serve inside Halton Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Angeles Alderete

Fran McBride

Carlia Northcross

Ellie Pate

Footer