East Carolina Volleyball set to host 2024 Pirate Invitational

GREENVILLE, N.C. — East Carolina takes to the friendly confines of Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for the first time in 2024 this weekend, welcoming North Carolina A&T, Texas A&M-Commerce and Western Carolina to Greenville for the Pirate Invitational.

The three-day event is slated to run Thursday through Saturday and features six total matches in a round-robin format. ECU faces off with North Carolina A&T Thursday at 7 p.m., Texas A&M-Commerce Friday at 7 p.m. and Western Carolina Saturday at 3 p.m. Live stats are available for all six contests while the matches featuring the Pirates will stream live via ESPN+.

East Carolina (3-0) compiled an unbeaten run through the Hampton Inn and Suites Seahawk Classic last weekend, turning aside Queens University, host UNCW and Loyola Maryland to win the tournament title for the second-straight year. Graduate student and right side Fran McBride was tabbed the event’s MVP after averaging 2.82 kills and 0.82 blocks per set with a .313 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Carlia Northcross joined her on the All-Tournament Team with a sparkling three-match effort that resulted in her putting up 2.00 kills and 0.91 blocks per set to go along with a sizzling .436 hitting percentage.

In addition to the contributions from McBride and Northcross, junior outside hitter Angeles Alderete posted two double-doubles while averaging 2.64 kills and 3.36 digs per set. Senior setters Payton Evenstad and Mackenzie Jefferson ran the offense superbly with respective marks of 5.45 and 5.09 kills per set in helping the Pirates hit .267 as a team and produce 13.45 kills per set. Senior libero Lara Uyar anchored the back row to the tune of 3.64 digs per set (40 total).

Though it’s early days, the Pirates currently lead the American Athletic Conference statistical table in kills per set (13.45) and assists per set (12.73) while slotting second in opposing hitting percentage (.119) and third in both hitting percentage (.267) and digs per set (14.36). Individually, Northcross is fourth in hitting percentage (.436).

A Look At North Carolina A&T

North Carolina A&T is off to an unbeaten start after sweeping North Carolina Central in a home-and-home set last weekend. The Aggies picked up a 3-0 home victory Friday before heading over to Durham and emerging victorious in three sets. Freshman outside hitter Tyne Ross produced a solid start to her career, totaling 29 kills and hitting .279 to earn Coastal Athletic Association Rookie of the Week accolades. Her 15 kills in Friday’s affair were the most by a North Carolina A&T freshman in a collegiate debut. The Aggies are averaging a stout 3.00 blocks per set thus far, as well as an eye-catching 2.83 service aces per set. Hal Clifton is in his 14th season at the helm of the North Carolina A&T outfit, leading the Aggies to a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season titles, a MEAC Tournament crown, one NCAA Tournament appearance (Spring 2021) and two National Invitational Volleyball Championship bids (2019 and Spring 2021).

The North Carolina A&T Series

The Pirates lead the all-time series with the Aggies by a 17-5 count, though North Carolina A&T pulled the reverse sweep of ECU for a five-set victory the last time the teams met in March of 2021 in Greenville. The Pirates have won eight of their last nine encounters with the Aggies and are 8-3 against North Carolina A&T inside Minges Coliseum.

Scouting Texas A&M-Commerce

Texas A&M-Commerce kickstarted its 2024 campaign at home last weekend, winning two of three at the Lion Invitational. The side split a pair of decisions on Friday, falling to Arkansas-Little Rock in four sets before responding with a 3-2 triumph over Central Arkansas. Texas A&M-Commerce then knocked off Tarleton State in four on Saturday to close out the event. Kitana Tuufuli and Reese Fetty paced the offensive efforts statistically, averaging a respective 2.77 and 2.54 kills a set. Defense was the collective calling card during the winning weekend as the Lions collected 18.23 digs and 2.23 blocks per set. Joe Morales is in his second season in charge of the program while owning coaching career stops at McNeese State, current AAC member UTSA, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas State and Iowa Central Community College.

The Texas A&M-Commerce Series

Friday’s tussle between East Carolina and Texas A&M-Commerce marks the first on the volleyball court.

The Book On Western Carolina

The Catamounts made the trip to Chapel Hill last weekend to begin their 2024 exploits. Western Carolina began the tournament with a four-set loss to College of Charleston before suffering 3-0 losses to Cleveland State and host North Carolina. Ali Morris put up 3.00 kills per set to pace the offensive efforts, but the Catamounts hit just .069 as a unit. Bailey Hartsough was a bright spot along the back row, averaging 4.10 digs per set, while Logan Carr was a force at the net as she compiled 11 total blocks (1.10 per set). Karen Glover, a two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year honoree, is in her 14th season leading the program. She led Western Carolina to its first-ever postseason appearance in 2022 as the Catamounts advanced to the NIVC quarterfinals.

The Western Carolina Series

The Pirates trail the all-time series with the Catamounts 5-2, but the teams have not met since 2015 when Western Carolina defeated ECU in four sets in Greenville as part of the East Carolina Invitational. Prior to the most recent encounter, the Pirates had not seen the Catamounts on the other side of the net since 1994.

Alderete Tabbed AAC Preseason Player of the Year

Junior outside hitter Angeles Alderete was named the 2024 American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Aug. 26. The two-time All-AAC selection is the first player in program history to earn the accolade in any conference of which the Pirates have been a member. It is her second major accolade wearing the Purple and Gold as she was crowned the AAC Freshman of the Year in 2022. An All-AAC First Team honoree a season ago, Alderete led East Carolina in kills (376), kills per set (3.19), total digs (364), points (430.5) and points per set (3.65) while ranking second in service aces (32) and digs per set (3.08). She finished the campaign ninth among league players in kills per set and points per set and notched 15 double-doubles – including an 18-kill, 11-dig effort in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) first round sweep of The Citadel which marked the Pirates’ first-ever postseason victory. Alderete racked up double-digit kills in 23 contests, putting up a season-best 19 in ECU’s five-set triumph at Virginia Tech.

Pirates Slotted Fourth In AAC Preseason Poll

In addition to Alderete’s recognition, East Carolina was selected fourth in the AAC Preseason Coaches Poll, garnering 106 points to slot behind league favorite Rice (136 points), Wichita State (127 Points) and South Florida (121 Points). The Pirates put together a 21-11 overall record and 11-8 AAC clip, ending up third in the East Division and tied for sixth overall on the conference table. ECU earned a postseason bid for the first time in program history, hosting the first and second rounds of the NIVC, while cementing its first 20-win season since 2017.

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