East Carolina Hosts AAC Foes UTSA And North Texas

Matches 13-14: UTSA and North Texas at East Carolina
Coverage	Oct. 4 \| vs. UTSA \| 6:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch Oct. 6 \| vs. North Texas \| 1:00 p.m. \| Live Stats \| Watch
Venues	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (7,100) (Greenville, N.C.)
Match Notes	East Carolina \| UTSA \| North Texas
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #ECUVB #NoQuarter

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After nearly a month away from home, East Carolina returns to the friendly confines of Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum this weekend for a pair of American Athletic Conference matches versus UTSA and North Texas. The Pirates and Roadrunners match up Friday (Oct. 4) at 6 p.m. before ECU welcomes the Mean Green to Greenville Sunday at 1 p.m.

Both matches will stream live via ESPN+ with Patrick Johnson (play-by-play) and Brittany Hoyt (analyst) on the call.

East Carolina (8-4, 1-1 AAC) emerged from its opening road weekend of league action with a split, handling Florida Atlantic in four sets last Friday before dropping a 3-0 decision to South Florida Sunday. Through two matches of conference play, the Pirates are in a tie for sixth place with FAU and Memphis. The top eight teams in the standings qualify for the reincarnated AAC Volleyball Championship scheduled for Nov. 22-24 in Wichita, Kan.

ECU remains one of the top defensive clubs in the league, topping the circuit in opponent hitting percentage (.168), while ranking fourth in hitting percentage (.223). Individually, junior middle blocker Carlia Northcross leads the conference in hitting percentage (.486) and senior libero Lara Uyar checks in at fifth in digs per set (3.83).

East Carolina's most recent appearance in Minges Coliseum occurred Sept. 5-7 when it swept North Carolina A&T, Texas A&M-Commerce and Western Carolina to win the Pirate Invitational without dropping a set in the process. ECU has won 12 of its last 18 contests inside the venue – including a sweep of The Citadel in the 2023 NIVC first round.

A Look At UTSA
UTSA (6-9, 0-2 AAC) arrives in the Tar Heel State in search of its first league victory after falling to North Texas and Rice last weekend. The Roadrunners dropped a four-set decision to the Mean Green at home before suffering a sweep at the hands of Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse. UTSA possesses wins over Marist, Holy Cross, Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Sam Houston State and McNeese State as well as non-conference setbacks to William & Mary, Old Dominion, Texas State, Incarnate Word, Alabama, Stephen F. Austin and Boise State. The Roadrunners lead the conference in blocks per set (2.41) as a team while Kai Bailey (1.19) and Mia Soerensen (1.07) are first and fourth in the statistic individually. Aliah Giroux also slots second in the league in digs per set (4.24).

The UTSA Series
East Carolina and UTSA have split a pair of all-time meetings. The Pirates got the better of the Roadrunners last season in San Antonio, winning the regular season finale in four sets.

About North Texas
North Texas (5-8, 2-0 AAC) is one of five AAC squads to emerge from the opening weekend of play with a 2-0 record after the Mean Green knocked off UTSA in four sets on the road and sweeping Tulane at home. North Texas defeated Texas Southern, Hampton and Buffalo during its non-conference slate but also fell to Colorado, Rutgers, Miami (Fla.), Georgetown, Maryland, Cal Poly, UNLV and Florida. The Mean Green paces the league in hitting percentage (.233) and ranks fourth in points per set (16.16). Aryn Johnson is fifth on the circuit in kills per set (3.07) while also sitting seventh in points per set (3.53). Priscilla Jones is the reigning AAC Defensive Player of the Week after 1.43 blocks per set in North Texas' two triumphs last week.

The North Texas Series
The Pirates and Mean Green both own a victory in the all-time series that began in 2013 when North Texas swept East Carolina in Denton. ECU captured last season's encounter, winning a four-set tussle in Greenville.

History Beckons
A trio of Pirates are close to breaking into the top 10 in program history in a handful of career statistics. Junior outside hitter Angeles Alderete requires just 24 kills to reach 1,000 and is also only 37 away from tying Ashton Mares (2014-17) for 10th place. Senior setter Payton Evenstad needs 49 assists to break into the list while Northcross is 60 blocks from joining the top 10.

Up Next
East Carolina heads back on the road next weekend to visit Tulane (Friday/7:30 p.m.) and Rice (Sunday/3:00 p.m.).

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Players Mentioned

Angeles Alderete

Payton Evenstad

Carlia Northcross

Lara Uyar

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