Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop volleyball (16-10, 12-2 Big South) is set to face East Carolina (18-9, 11-5 AAC) on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in the first round of the 2024 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) on their home court in Greenville, N.C. The match will be held on East Carolina's campus inside the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, the site of the first and second round contests for this pod. Each match will be carried on ESPN+. Before Winthrop's match with East Carolina, Connecticut will face Mercer at 3 p.m. In the event of an Eagle victory, Winthrop will face the winner of the Connecticut/Mercer match the next day at 6 p.m. The winner of this pod will move on to the third round of the tournament at a date, location and time TBD.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS EAST CAROLINA
This will be the 19th meeting between the programs, with the series tied at 9-9 but the Eagles have won two of the last three encounters. Winthrop's last win in the series was 3-2 on Sep. 9, 2017. The first meeting was on Oct. 18, 1976 with Winthrop winning 2-1 on the way to capturing the first five matchups in the series
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LAST TIME OUT
- After trailing 2-0, Winthrop came all the way back to force the fifth set but eventually fell to High Point in the title match of the Big South Conference Tournament Sunday afternoon at the Millis Center on the campus of High Point University
- Rachel McCollum and Sophia Matthews were named to the All-Tournament Team
- McCollum set a career-high in kills and total blocks
- Four Eagles had double figures in digs
- Four Eagles had more than three total blocks
- Winthrop moved to 36-30 all-time in the Big South Tournament
- This was Winthrop's 12th appearance all-time in the title match, with a record of 6-6
- The Eagles last won the conference tournament in 2019
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES
- This will be the Eagles second consecutive trip to this tournament. The NIVC Tournament was re-established in 2017 (it was previously held from 1989-95)
- The Eagles (16-10, 12-2) earned an automatic bid to the tournament after finishing runner-up in the Big South Tournament in a five-set thriller vs. High Point on their home court in the title match
- Before Winthrop's match with East Carolina, Connecticut will face Mercer at 3 p.m. In the event of an Eagle victory, Winthrop will face the winner of the Connecticut/Mercer match the next day at 6 p.m. Check back for more updates on match times and ticket information
- Winthrop is seeking their first post-season victory after the Big South Tournament (0-6 in NCAA Tournament; 0-1 in NIVC Tournament)
- The Eagles have played 1,828 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,089-739
- Winthrop is currently the only program in the Big South so far this season to have defeated a Power Four opponent
- Avery Jolley leads the team in kills with 303
- Isabella Murray leads the team in assists with 924 and aces with 20
- Murray is seventh in school history in assists with 2,866
- Maeve Rehmann leads the team in blocks with 58
- Matthews leads the team in digs with 385
- Winthrop leads the conference in kills per set (13.62)
- Winthrop leads the conference in digs per set (18.64)
- This is also ranked 3rd in the nation
- Winthrop is second in the conference in assists per set (12.31)
- Winthrop is second in the conference in hitting percentage (.212)
- Jolley is second in the Big South in kills per set with 3.61
- Karli Shepherd is close behind, placing fifth with 3.08
- Giselle Little is third in the Big South in hitting percentage (.374)
- Matthews is second in the conference in digs per set with 5.13
- This is ranked 12th in the nation
- Murray leads the conference in assists per set with 10.62
- This is ranked 20th in the nation
- Murray is ranked 10th in the conference in digs per set with 3.05
A LOOK AT EAST CAROLINA
- East Carolina (18-9 overall) finished third in the American Athletic Conference standings this season with an 11-5 league record
- It marked the highest-ever finish for the Pirates in AAC play while tying for the best in any conference in program history
- ECU also registered double-digit victories for the second consecutive season and logged 10 or more league wins in two-straight campaigns for the first time after producing an 11-8 American Conference record in 2023
- Fran McBride (First Team), Angeles Alderete (Second Team) and Taryn Gilreath (All-Freshman Team) each earned postseason accolades from the league in November
- A balanced offense has been the ticket for East Carolina in 2024 as three Pirates have collected at least 253 kills
- The trio of Ellie Pate (272), McBride (263) and Alderete (253) have combined for 788 of ECU's 1,217 kills and have helped the Pirates produce a .234 hitting percentage – good for second in the American Athletic Conference and 81st nationally
- East Carolina has also been stingy defensively, limiting opponents to .183 offensive efficiency
- That mark puts the Pirates second in the AAC and 65th among NCAA Division I sides
- The Pirates have turned Minges Coliseum into a veritable fortress this year, registering a 9-2 record inside the friendly confines and posting the best single-season home winning percentage (81.8) in program history
ABOUT THE NIVC TOURNAMENT
- The National Invitational Volleyball Championship involves 29 of the nation's top women's Division I Volleyball teams
- All games, including the semifinals and championship, are hosted by participating schools
- Every round is single elimination
- The bracket launches with eight host schools, with action set to begin on Wednesday, Dec. 4
- The championship match is slated for Dec. 15, 16, 17 or 18 – all matches are held on campus locations
- A total of 11 programs won or had a share of their regular season conference championship, and 14 teams in the 29-team field won at least 20 matches this season.
- Eight teams host Rounds 1 & 2 in 4 to 5 team pods; single matches in Rounds 3-5
- The championship game will be streamed by the host school
- For more information, visit www.womensnivc.com
NIVC FIRST AND SECOND ROUND TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the first and second rounds of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, hosted by East Carolina Dec. 5-6, are currently on sale to the public. Fans can click
here to purchase tickets or call the ECU Athletics Ticket Office at (252) 737-4500. All seating inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum is general admission (first come first served) and tickets are priced at $5. For Friday's first round, one ticket will allow entry for both matches.
WATCH THE EAGLES ON ESPN+
All but two of the home games during the 2024 season will air live on ESPN+. You can also catch select road games in Big South Conference play on ESPN+. To watch Big South games on ESPN+ you must have a subscription to ESPN+. For more information on how to subscribe,
click here.
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