Pirates Begin Second Half Of AAC Schedule Against Charlotte And FAU

Matches 19-20: East Carolina at Charlotte \| Florida Atlantic at East Carolina
Coverage	Oct. 23 \| at Charlotte \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Oct. 25 \| vs. Florida Atlantic \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch
Venues	Halton Arena (9,105) \| (Charlotte, N.C.) Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (7,100) \| (Greenville, N.C)
Match Notes	East Carolina \| Charlotte \| Florida Atlantic
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #ECUVB #NoQuarter

GREENVILLE, N.C. – With eight matches remaining in the regular season, East Carolina can take a large step toward securing its place in the American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship when its visits Charlotte Wednesday evening and hosts Florida Atlantic Friday night.

Both matches are set for a 6 p.m. first serve and will stream live through ESPN+. Jon Gross and Claire Geary have the call in Charlotte while Patrick Johnson and Brittany Hoyt will handle Friday's broadcast back in Greenville.

The Pirates (12-6, 5-3 AAC) put on a show inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum last weekend, sweeping aside Temple Friday before registering their first-ever victory over Wichita State in a five-set instant classic Sunday. The two victories, combined with other fortuitous results around the league, vaulted ECU into a four-way tie for third place on the league table.

Setter Taryn Gilreath nabbed AAC Freshman of the Week accolades after averaging 6.00 assists and 1.75 digs per set versus the Owls and Shockers. Right side Fran McBride was also recognized on the AAC Weekly Honorable Mention list, putting up 2.50 kills and 1.25 blocks per set. She was one of four Pirates in double figures in the kill column against Wichita State, finishing the match with 15 kills, four blocks and a .414 hitting percentage.

East Carolina has utilized a bevy of offensive weapons this campaign as four hitters sport kills per set averages of 2.00 or better. McBride paces the unit with 180 total kills (2.77) while Ellie Pate (2.71), Angeles Alderete (2.69) and Aulie Huff (2.02) round out the group. The Pirates benefitted from the return of star middle blocker Carlia Northcross from injury Sunday as she logged seven kills, five blocks and a sizzling .545 hitting percentage. Northcross had missed all seven of ECU's previous league contests.

The Pirates own a trio of true road wins thus far (UNCW, Campbell and Florida Atlantic) and are 3-5 on an opponent's home floor. However, East Carolina has countered with a 7-0 home record and a 2-1 neutral site mark.

The Book On Charlotte
Charlotte (4-17, 1-7 AAC) begins the second half of its league slate seeking upward movement in the standings as it is tied with UTSA for last place. The 49ers were swept by both Wichita State and Temple last weekend and have dropped four straight. Charlotte's lone conference victory was a five-set triumph over UTSA at Halton Arena back on Oct. 6. Kristen Birmingham is the top statistical offensive threat for the 49ers as she is putting up 3.28 kills per set. Charlotte is one of the top blocking sides in the league with the tandem of Selanny Puente (0.96) and Lara Kretschmer (0.91) both averaging nearly one rejection per set. The 49ers are hitting .182 as a team and are allowing opponents to fire at .250 efficiency.

The Charlotte Series
Charlotte leads the all-time series with East Carolina by a 19-11 count and has captured six of the last seven meetings. The teams split the season set in 2023 on consecutive days in Greenville as the Pirates swept the opener before losing two sets to none lead in the subsequent 3-2 loss. ECU has not won at Charlotte since 2004.

Examining Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic (12-8, 4-4 AAC) shook the American Conference up last week, emerging victorious at home over the top two teams in the standings. The Owls disposed of Rice in three sets Friday before handing South Florida its first loss in league play by a 3-1 margin Sunday. FAU boasts four players who average over two kills per set in Katelynn Robine (3.00), Valeria Rosado (2.80), Natalie Depaula (2.10) and Madison Dyer (2.05). Victoria Hensley runs that efficient offense to the tune of 10.74 assists per set while Kaila Ru checks in with a 1.33 blocks per set mark. The Owls rank among the league leaders in several statistical categories, slotting second in points per set (16.79) and opponent hitting percentage (.187) as well as third in assists per set (12.42), kills per set (13.16) and digs per set (15.58).

The Florida Atlantic Series
East Carolina began conference play this season with a key four-set win over Florida Atlantic at Baldwin Arena on Sept. 27, improving to 2-2 against the Owls in the all-time series. The sides split two meetings in Greenville last year as the Pirates swept the first match before falling in four sets the next day.

Up Next
ECU travels to Memphis Friday, Nov. 1, for an American Athletic Conference encounter with the Tigers inside the Larry O. Finch Center. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Matches 19-20: East Carolina at Charlotte \| Florida Atlantic at East Carolina
Coverage	Oct. 23 \| at Charlotte \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Oct. 25 \| vs. Florida Atlantic \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch
Venues	Halton Arena (9,105) \| (Charlotte, N.C.) Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (7,100) \| (Greenville, N.C)
Match Notes	East Carolina \| Charlotte \| Florida Atlantic
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #ECUVB #NoQuarter

Pirates Begin Second Half Of AAC Schedule Against Charlotte And FAU

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Players Mentioned

Angeles Alderete

Taryn Gilreath

Aulie Huff

Fran McBride

Carlia Northcross

Ellie Pate

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