University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Marquette*
Volleyball Posts Second Straight League Win
Oct 26, 2002 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 26, 2002
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Led again by freshman Nancy Nellans (South Bend, Ind./St. Josephs), the University of Memphis volleyball team (17-10, 2-5 C-USA) posted its second straight 3-0 league win over visiting Marquette (10-11, 1-7 C-USA), Saturday. Nellans finished with 22 kills, the fourth time in her career she has downed 20 or more kills in a game, and the third time in seven conference matches she has passed the 20 kill plateau.
"Nancy had another great night against a Conference USA opponent," head coach Carrie Yerty said. "Last night against DePaul she didn't play as well, I think because in her recruiting process it was down to us and DePaul and they told her she'd be a better fit here. But she just keeps stepping up and is fearless in league play."
Game one found the Tigers playing catch-up after Marquette used early momentum to take a slight lead. The Tigers pulled even at 22 when Nellans went to work, helping Memphis to a 30-25 game one win. Nellans finished the first game with 10 kills and a .471 hitting percentage.
The freshman from South Bend found the going a little more difficult in game two, as the Golden Eagles tried to stop her, but in keying on Nellans, the Golden Eagles left junior Brittany Barnett (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands) and sophomore Tiara Gilkey (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonsville) open. The duo each downed five kills and hit over .350 in the second game, while junior middle Shella Neba (Aurora, Colo./St. Mary's) also went to work attacking the middle to open up the outsides. Memphis kept building momentum, wrapping up the second game, 30-18, before the break.
Marquette head coach Pati Rolf got her team fired up during the break, as the Golden Eagles came out swinging. But the Tigers chipped away at the offense and stepped up the blocking game, posting six total blocks, led by Neba's five block assists in the third game alone to round up the win, 30-27. Neba finished with a tying her career best with eight total blocks for the game and hitting .778 with seven kills on nine attacks.
"Shella's game tonight was huge," Yerty said. "Her blocking and the fact that she hit .778 helped open things up for her teammates on the outside and enabled Nancy and Brittany to have big nights out there."
Barnett also hit double-digit kills, finishing with 11 kills, four assists, two service ace and five digs. The junior from Dallas now has 413 kills this season with six regular season matches remaining. Barnett also passed the 700 career kill mark with her first kill of the night against Marquette.
The Golden Eagles were led by freshman middle Angieszka Niemcezewska with 12 kills, while Jessica Klein added 10. A key part of the Tiger game plan was stopping sophomore Shannon Devine. Devine finished the match with six kills and a .176 hitting percentage. Erin Freer and setter Gemma Greer led the Marquette defense with nine digs apiece.
Memphis will face two of the top three teams in the league next weekend when they travel to Cincinnati, Friday, and Louisville, Saturday. Marquette hosts TCU, Friday, and Houston, Saturday.
