Purple and gold pride runs deep for one Fayetteville family. Bri Wood, a freshman volleyball player, shares her Pirate bond with her father PJ Wood and cousin Jerome Bacon, both ECU alumni. Wood said her relationship with them helped prepare the freshman for her first year as a Pirate.

"I was prepared. I knew coming in, it was going to be a lot of work playing on the team and going to school. I knew there was a lot of effort I'd have to put in, I knew grades weren't going to just be handed to me. I'm glad I had them to tell me not to procrastinate and to start early on schoolwork or else it's going to be really hard."

Bri explained that her family had told her what Pirate Nation would be like and she got a firsthand experience with it early on.

"They told me the environment is very passionate and they told me about the cheers and stuff at the football games which was really cool. When I met the girls on my visit, they were all really nice and they were all welcoming, so it felt like home."

Starting in 27 of 33 matches this season, Wood has been an integral member of the team ranking third in blocks (67) and kills (287). She said her dad, who frequently attends her matches, is also a big part of the team.

"My dad takes pictures. He's gotten into that as a hobby. He gets in and he takes pictures around the court during my games. He'll put them up on Facebook, and sometimes he'll even send them to ECU Athletics."

Bri talked about looking up to her cousin Jerome Bacon, who played wide receiver for the Pirates, and how he helped her understand what it would take to be a successful student-athlete.

"My cousin was a student-athlete too. He said one time he accidentally missed a class. When he came back, he said it was really hard to catch back up because he had to deal with football practice and school. He said even though all that stuff is going on, you do have time to have friends and to focus on getting a job when you graduate. He basically said you can keep a balance if you work at it."

Bri said that she occasionally misses her family and sometimes gets homesick, but she has her second family here to support her.

"You have a whole family supporting you, it is not just you here at school. You have people that will be there for you throughout the whole athletics department. Basically, it just feels like a family. When you're homesick, it helps you get over it. Even outside your sport, when you meet athletes in other sports, they are all really welcoming. It's one big family."

For this first-year Pirate, ECU is more than just a home away from home. It's where she belongs.