University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
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UTEP
Volleyball Ventures East on I-40 for the Belmont Bruiser Showcase
Sep 03, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Memphis playing a pair of Friday neutral matches before facing host Belmont.
Live Stats vs. UTEP
Live Stats vs. South Alabama
MEMPHIS – The University of Memphis volleyball team (2-1) will play a pair of Friday matches as part of the Belmont Bruiser Showcase in Nashville. The Tigers will face former league mate UTEP (1-2) at 10 a.m., as the tournament opener, then will face South Alabama (1-2) at 3:30 p.m. Memphis will wrap up the tournament against host Belmont (0-3), Saturday, at 2 p.m.
"This is another strong tournament," Head Coach April Jauregui said. "All three teams played a strong first weekend, so we can't go based by records. We are kind of a brand new team, so we're getting a good glimpse here. I think we have some really good pieces and our girls, in terms of mental fortitude and focus, have been good. They knew in the Georgia game that we lost focus and made a lot of errors, but they're recognizing those things and what they want to do to improve. Even scouting report-wise, we're at a much different level than they've even been in the past because they're so tuned in to what's going on."
Memphis will open against UTEP, a team that the Tigers knew well from both team's membership in Conference USA. The Tigers lead the overall series with UTEP, 7-6, but have lost three straight to the Miners. That conference rematch will be played at 10 a.m., Friday, a challenge Memphis should be ready for after last weekend's tournament.
"We played a 10 a.m. game last weekend, so we're prepared for that," Jauregui said. "Those matches can go either way sometimes when you're trying to get them up early and get started. But I'm excited for this tournament and getting a chance to fix some things we saw last weekend. Again, on paper we've got some really good things going for us, it's just continuing to get better week in and week out. Starting 2-1 last weekend was great. We did a great job of setting the tone early, and were controlling the games. Unfortunately, against Georgia, we made a lot of errors and that kind of gave them those first two sets, but that's what we have been emphasizing, playing the way we wanted to play and instilling our will on the match, so it was definitely a positive. We made them adjust to us."
The tournament in Nashville will mark the final neutral site matches of the season for the Tigers, as Memphis hosts back-to-back tournaments the following two weekends before opening conference play on Sept. 23rd at Cincinnati.
Live stats will be available for both of Friday's matches and Saturday's match against Belmont will have free live video as part of the Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network.
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