Volleyball Closes Camp With Exhibition Game

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Aug 22, 2015 | Women's Volleyball

Team gray sweeps four sets in scrimmage.

By: Tammy DeGroff

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MEMPHIS – The University of Memphis women's volleyball team closed its 2015 fall camp with a blue/gray scrimmage Saturday morning in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Juniors Catlin Lilly and Summer Morgan each tallied double digit kills in the four sets played. Lilly led all players with 16 kills, while Morgan finished with 10 kills.

Team gray (wearing white uniforms) won all four closely contested sets, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22, and 25-21.
Both Lilly and Morgan had strong starts to the morning's play. Lilly downed seven kills on 11 swings with a .636 hitting percentage in the first set, while Morgan downed four kills on nine swings. Lilly also added eight of her 16 kills in the first set, while Regan Comperry led the blue team on defense with seven digs.

Lilly then hit .571 (four kills with no errors on seven swings) in the second set. Sophomore outside Oluchi Agomuo also got in to the .500 club act for team gray, hitting .545 (six kills, no errors, 11 swings). Agomuo would finish with nine kills, as would junior McKenzie Hayes.

Both sides found more success in their blocking games in the third set. Blue out-blocked grey 5-4 in the third set, but Lindsey Purvis' eight third set digs helped team gray fight off the blue squad for the third set win, 25-22. Purvis would finish as the morning's leading defender, posting 27 digs over four sets. Freshman Mady Ruhlman would also cross the 20-dig plateau, finishing with 21 digs in her first collegiate scrimmage.

Corinne Graham then helped white close out the sweep with three fourth set service aces. Graham and Faith Myers each had three aces in the match.

Defensively, senior Torika Baleilekutu led all players with seven total blocks, while Hayes finished with six. Morgan and freshman Kelsey Walter each added four blocks.

Myers led all players with 36 assists, adding 11 digs for the double-double.

"It was definitely positive out there," Head Coach April Jauregui said. "It's still a matter of putting the right combinations together. I thought the girls competed hard today and this was a good preview on what we need to work on in the next week before we go play Friday. This was the first day back for a couple of kids who have missed with some bumps and bruises and you saw that out there."

Memphis opens its 2015 regular season, Friday, at the University of Georgia Benson Hospitality Invitational. The Tigers will face High Point in their season opener at 3 p.m. (CT). On Saturday, Memphis will play a pair of non-conference matches, facing Wofford, at 9 a.m. (CT) and host Georgia at 6 p.m. (CT).

"I think they have the right mindset and are expecting to win," Jauregui said. "But this is a brand new group. And really, until we play someone else, there's just things you're not going to know because we really know our own teammates well. We are digging things because we know where people are hitting, but we'll really get a good gauge next weekend. We do have a good core of returners, but it's just a matter of asking them to step up in to their roles. We lost a big part of our offense and defense last year with four players not here any longer, so we're asking other players to step up and contribute in more ways than they did last season."

Live stats all three matches will be available on the University of Georgia website HERE. The Tigers' Saturday night match with host Georgia will be carried on the SEC Network Plus (ESPN3.com/WatchESPN).