Tigers Volleyball Falls To SMU Friday

Friday, October 14

Memphis, Tenn.

7 pm

University of Memphis

8-11,0-7

SMU

14-6,7-1

SMU

Memphis

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Oct 15, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Memphis-SMU Boxscore Memphis Season Stats

Memphis takes league-leading Mustangs to the limit.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – University of Memphis' Regan Comperry and Catlin Lilly both posted double-doubles, and the Tigers volleyball squad nearly pulled off the upset in a grueling 3-0 loss to American Athletic Conference leader SMU Friday.

The Mustangs won the match by narrow scores of 31-29, 25-22 and 25-23.

With the setback, Memphis is 8-11 overall and 0-7 in The American. SMU improved to 14-6 overall and 7-1 in the conference. The Mustangs lead The American by a half game over second-place Cincinnati at 6-1.

Lilly posted a team-high 10 kills and added 14 digs for her third double-double of the season, and Comperry recorded her fourth double-double of 2016 with 17 assists and 13 digs.

Faith Myers nearly had a double-double performance with 15 assists and nine digs. Mady Ruhlman led Memphis with 16 digs. Summer Morgan added a season-best seven blocks, while Kelsey Walter had eight kills and a season-high four blocks.

"Catlin had a good match, and she executed our game plan," said head coach April Jauregui. "We made some lineup adjustments. Kelsey played a position that she had not seen time at before tonight, and she brought some offense and energy to the court.

"I'm pleased with how we battled tonight, and if we have this effort every match the rest of the season, we'll make some runs at some teams."

The Tigers gave SMU a battle at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, taking the league leader to the limit and then some in all three sets. There were 28 ties and nine lead changes to go along with 286 attack attempts between the two teams, including 116 total in the first set alone.

The first set saw the visitors from Dallas, Texas, take an early lead and hold it until the Mustangs led 19-15. Memphis then went on a 4-0 mini-run for a 19-all tie, setting up a back-and-forth flurry the rest of the way. A Lilly kill and an SMU error put Memphis one point away from earning the first-set win at 24-22. SMU, though, fought back to tie the set at 24-all and held off two Tigers' set points at 25-24 and 26-25. The Mustangs took the first set 31-29.

The second set went much the same way, with SMU grabbing an early lead and holding a five-point cushion at 20-15. Memphis, however, rallied to cut the Mustangs' advantage to 24-22. Lilly, Myers and Tai Bierria each posted a kill in the Tigers' comeback. The Memphis rally fell short, and SMU won the second set 25-22.

In the third set, the start was different from the first two as Memphis jumped out to the early 9-5 lead. Lilly and Michaella Moss each had two kills in the early portion of the set. The Tigers continued to lead and were ahead 19-15 when SMU made its run. The Mustangs tied the set at 23-all with an 8-4 spurt and then scored the match's final two points for the 25-23 final.

Memphis continues its homestand Sunday, Oct. 16 when it hosts Tulsa in a 1 p.m. (CT) match at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.