University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UNC Greensboro
Tigers Roll Past UNC-Greensboro in Straight Sets
Sep 16, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2011
Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C. - In a match in which it never trailed, the University of Memphis volleyball team (9-2) knocked off tournament-host UNC-Greensboro in straight sets (25-10;25-18;2The Tigers started the first set in dominating fashion, jumping out to a 9-1 lead on the Spartans and never looking back. Memphis used four kills from Vesna Jelic and Altrese Hawkins and hit .565 to win the set 25-10. NCAA-assist leader Hajnalka Molnar contributed 11 assists and three digs, while, Lauren Hawkins downed three kills.
Memphis continued its strong play in the second set behind the strong play of Marija Jovanovic, who finished the set with four kills and four digs. The Tigers jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind kills from Katie Meyer and Jovanovic before UNC-Greensboro fought back to make it 6-4, the closest the Spartans would get in the set.
Memphis pushed the lead to 10-5 and then 15-10 behind strong play from Jovanovic and Molnar, who finished with 15 assists in the set. The Spartans narrowed the deficit to 19-15 behind a kill from Karrian Chambers and Tiger errors. The Tigers finally put the set away 25-18 behind a powerful kill down the middle from Katie Meyer, who had four kills in the set.
In similar fashion to the second set, Memphis jumped out to a 4-1 lead before UNC-Greensboro fought back to make it 6-4. The Tigers then scored five-straight points to make it 11-4 with Megan Pulido serving to take control of the set. The Tigers extended the advantage to 17-7 behind kills from Meyer, Lauren Hawkins and a flurry of errors by the Spartans.
Memphis was led by Altrese Hawkins, who finished with 11 kills and hit at a .688 clip. Lauren Hawkins finished with nine kills and a .667 hitting percentage, while Jelic and Jovanovic each finished with eight kills. Molnar finished with 36 assists in the game to go along with seven digs and also tied a career-high with five service aces. Memphis hit .474 as a team during the match.
UNC-Greensboro, which falls to 4-8, was led by outside hitters Karrian Chambers and Ariel Newman, who each finished with six kills. Ari Lysacek finished with 11 assists for the Spartans, while Kellie Orewiler registered nine digs to lead the defense.
Memphis continues its play tomorrow in the Spartan Spiketacular with matches against Radford (9:30 a.m. CT) and Howard (4 p.m. CT). 5-11) to win its opening match of the Spartan Spiketacular.
