By james art GREENVILLE, NC – Armed with a four-game winning streak, East Carolina makes its final two-game American Athletic Conference road trip this weekend when it hosts Memphis (7 p.m.) on Friday and UAB (1 p.m.) on Sunday.
Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Jeff Brightwell on the call on Friday and Lyndon Blake and Sarah Cowart handling Sunday’s broadcast duties.
ECU (14-6, 7-3 AAC) knocked off Temple, Wichita State, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic in succession to pull within one game of first place in the league standings behind South Florida and Rice. The top eight teams advance to the reincarnated American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championships, set for Nov. 22-24 in Wichita, Kan.
The Pirates have shown themselves to be one of the most consistent sides in the conference as of late, and they’ve done so effectively — ranking second among the AAC leaders in both hitting percentage (.231) and opponent hitting percentage (.181). . East Carolina is also fifth on the court in shots per set (15.15) and sixth in assists per set (11.77). If there’s room for improvement, it’s in performance away from home, as the Pirates are just 2-3 in league contests outside of Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
After missing much of the AAC program due to injury, the junior middle blocker Karliah Northcross is back in the mix and played a big role in wins over Wichita State and FAU, averaging 1.88 blocks per set and posting a .421 hitting percentage. She is tied for third in the league in blocks per set (1.17) as a freshman right winger Fran McBride is fourth in hitting percentage (.339) and a senior libero Lara Uyar slots fifth in digs per set (3.76).
ECU is one of five American Conference teams ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI rankings, joining Rice (34), South Florida (69), Wichita State (75) and Tulsa (78). The Pirates are 97th on the list.
The Memphis Book
Memphis (10-12, 4-6 AAC) is right in the thick of the race for one of the eight conference tournament spots, sitting in ninth place. The Tigers lurk just one game behind Florida Atlantic, Tulane and North Texas for sixth after dropping a five-setter at Wichita State and falling in three at Tulsa last weekend. Memphis has been a hard-serving side all season, currently leading the league in aces per set (1.85). The Tigers are also fourth in shots per set (15.57). Jordan Heatherly ranks among the AAC’s statistical leaders in both aces per set (second/0.46) and assists per set (third/9.43), while Abigail Schluter is third in digs per set (4.27 ). Memphis has three wins at home in AAC play, defeating UAB, Charlotte and Temple.
The Memphis Series
Memphis leads the all-time series with East Carolina 24-13, although the Pirates have had recent success in winning the last three meetings and 10 of the last 16 dating back to 2014. ECU swept the season series in Greenville last year and also won a five-setter last time he visited Bluff City (Nov. 13, 2022).
Viewing UAB
UAB (8-13, 3-7 AAC) looks to make its move in the standings as the regular season comes to a close, as the Blazers are tied for 11th place with Temple. Last weekend, UAB was swept in Tulsa Friday before dropping a four-set decision at Wichita State Sunday. The Blazers are third in the league in aces per set (1.67) and have earned that ranking collectively as UAB does not feature an individual on the conference’s top 10 list. Jorda Crook leads the offensive effort as she is third in the league in points per set (4.17) and fourth in kills per set (3.58). UAB is 3-2 at home in AAC play with wins over Temple, Charlotte and Tulane.
The UAB series
UAB leads the all-time series with East Carolina 17-7, but most of those meetings occurred when both institutions were members of Conference USA. The Pirates swept the season series last year in Birmingham with back-to-back wins of 3-0 and 3-2.
1K/1K Club
A little more than halfway through his third college season, Angeles Alderete is within touching distance of joining the prestigious 1000 kill and 1000 dig club in East Carolina. She needs just 82 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 record the feat is Bri Wood, who collected 1,303 kills and 1,144 digs in her five seasons (2017-21) wearing the Purple and Gold. Fittingly, Wood currently serves as ECU’s director of student-athlete development and life skills.
Next up
East Carolina returns to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Friday, Nov. 8 when it welcomes Tulsa for American Athletic Conference competition. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m