Pirates Set to Host UNT and UTSA Deep in the Heart of Greenville

Friday, October 2

Greenville, N.C.

6:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

North Texas

Pirates Set to Host UNT and UTSA Deep in the Heart of Greenville

October 01, 2026 | Volleyball

Matches 15&16: North Texas (8-5. 1-1 American) and UTSA (9-4, 0-2 American) at East Carolina (9-5, 2-0 American)
Coverage	Oct. 2 \| 6:00 p.m. ET \| Watch (Brittany Hoyt (PxP) Jennings Hall (Color)) \| Live Stats Oct. 4 \| 1:00 p.m. ET \| Watch (Patrick Johnson (PxP) Brittany Hoyt (Color)) \| Live Stats
Venue	Greenville, N.C. \| Minges Coliseum
Match Notes	East Carolina \| North Texas \| UTSA
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #ECUVB #GoPirates

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The ECU volleyball team returns home to Williams Arena inside Minges Coliseum on Friday, October 2, to face North Texas before hosting UTSA on Sunday, October 4. East Carolina enters the weekend looking to extend its three-game win streak in its 2-0 start in conference play. First serve on Friday is set for 6:00 p.m. ET, while Sunday's match is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET.

OPENING CONFERENCE
ECU opened conference play on September 23, starting strong against Charlotte and winning in three sets at Minges Coliseum. Ellie Pate led the Pirates with her first double-double of the season, notching 13 kills and 11 digs, and Taryn Gilreath also had a season-high performance with 44 assists and three blocks. ECU totaled a .366 hitting percentage, leaving the Niners under .100 on the night and forcing 21 attack errors.

HISTORIC NIGHT IN H-TOWN
The Pirates are heating up in conference play, especially after a historic performance in Houston on Friday night's win against Rice. That victory broke their Houston curse, snapped Rice's undefeated streak at home against ECU, and gave the Pirates their first program-history win in Tudor Fieldhouse. It also marked their first win over the Owls in almost two decades (2007). Emma Ortiz led the team with a career-high 25 digs; Aulie Huff had a season-high 11 kills, and Kai Bailey finished with a season-high 9 kills and three blocks. As a team, ECU totaled nine team blocks and held the Owls to a .157 hitting percentage.

TRIPLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
On Friday, the Pirates had three players record double-doubles for the first time since 2013. Angeles Alderete finished with 14 kills and 20 digs for her 41st career double-double; Ellie Pate added her second straight double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs; and Taryn Gilreath finished with 44 assists and 16 digs.

WEEKLY AWARDS
On September 28, Gilreath was named American Conference Setter of the Week for her efforts in the Pirates' two matches against Charlotte and Rice. Across the two matches, Gilreath accumulated 88 assists, 20 digs, eight kills, and five blocks while helping lead East Carolina to a .290 team hitting percentage. Gilreath now ranks third in The American with 9.68 assists per set.

Pate and Ortiz also earned American Conference Honorable Mentions. Across the two matches, Pate amassed 28 combined kills and a .219 hitting percentage, while Ortiz recorded 37 combined digs. Pate ranks second in The American with 3.75 kills per set, trailing only Memphis' Caitlyn Little.

INSIDE THE AMERICAN
ECU is 2-0 in conference play, its best start in league play since joining The American in 2014, and Temple, Tulane and Tulsa are also 2-0 in league play.

As a team, East Carolina has relied on its defense to succeed. The Pirates rank top five in the American in opponent aces per set (second) and opponent hitting percentage (.190, fourth), and they rank fourth in the league in total blocks with 112. Bailey ranks top ten (ninth) in the league in blocks with 50.

CHOOSING TEXAS
The Pirates are welcoming two of the three schools in the conference from Texas to Greenville this weekend (UNT and UTSA) after a Friday victory against the third (Rice). East Carolina has many connections to Texas, as there are five Texans on the roster, the most of any state. Taryn Gilreath, Ekwe Anwah, Alli Butrum, Jaci Hall and Naala Kasunga all hail from the Lone Star State. Head coach Adler Augustin has his own connections, graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007 and serving on the volleyball staff at Stephen F. Austin for five seasons before moving to Greenville in 2020.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green enter Friday's match with the Pirates at 8-5 overall and 1-1 in league play after splitting last week's matchups with Florida Atlantic and Tulane. The Mean Green started the season strong, going 3-0 in the Abilene Christian Invitational. As the season has progressed, the Mean Green have faced stiff competition from top programs like Baylor, Florida, and West Virginia. In Friday's five-set win over Florida Atlantic, UNT held the Owls to a sub-.200 hitting percentage for the match. For North Texas, Jahniya Jackson (3.08 kills per set) and Lillian Croshaw (2.40 kills per set) lead the offense. Addison Achilles and Loredana Fouonji are also the season's top blockers with 49 and 43 blocks. Second-year head coach Dave Fleming leads North Texas, with his record currently sitting at 29-14 (.674). Last season, he led the Mean Green to 20+ victories for the first time since 2017. The Pirates and the Mean Green met once last season in Denton, and North Texas won in four sets. In that match, however, Bailey recorded 16 kills to lead the way for ECU.

EXAMINING UTSA
UTSA comes to North Carolina for two matches, taking on Charlotte in the Queen City on Friday before Sunday's matchup with East Carolina. The Roadrunners enter with a 9-4 record and a 0-2 mark in conference play after dropping league matches to Tulane and Florida Atlantic, both in five sets. Last Friday's loss to the Green Wave ended the Roadrunners' eight-game win streak, which included a road win over Big 12 foe Houston. Offensively, UTSA is led by Sydney Bryant, Gigi Mason, and Isabella Arroyave, while defensively, Ledisi Kpea is the team's leading blocker. UTSA is led by head coach Carol Price-Torok in her fifth season. Her record currently sits at 56-70 (.444) throughout her time in the Alamo City. Last season, the Pirates and the Roadrunners met once in San Antonio, and UTSA beat the Pirates 3-0. Aulie Huff led ECU with eight kills.

UP NEXT
East Carolina hits the road to face the Charlotte 49ers for the second time this season on Wednesday, October 7, at 6:00 p.m. ET.