Tigers Volleyball Drops Tough Five-Setter At Temple

Friday, October 28

Philadelphia, Pa.

6 pm

University of Memphis

11-12, 3-8American

Temple

16-6, 9-3American

Memphis

Temple

Photo by: Michael Wade

Tigers Volleyball Drops Tough Five-Setter At Temple

Oct 28, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Memphis-Temple Boxscore Memphis Season Stats

Four Tigers post double-doubles in the narrow setback.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Talk about not backing down.

In one of the toughest venues to compete in the American Athletic Conference, the University of Memphis volleyball squad took league contender Temple to the limit, but dropped a tough five-set decision to the Owls 3-2 at McGonigle Hall Friday night. Temple took the match by scores of 17-25, 25-13, 25-23, 16-25 and 20-18.

Four Tigers recorded double-doubles in the narrow setback, led by senior Catlin Lilly's fifth-straight double-double. Juniors Regan Comperry and Faith Myers and freshman Tai Bierria also had double-double performances. It was Bierria's first career double-double performance.

"I couldn't be prouder of our team," said head coach April Jauregui. "This is a tough environment to play in, and we came in and pushed them to the limit. We are fighting and playing toe-to-toe with the top teams in the conference. That's what we are capable of.

"We put ourselves in position to win. A few key calls at the end of the match didn't go our way which is unfortunate, but congrats to Temple on the win. They are an outstanding team."

With the setback, Memphis fell to 11-12 overall and 3-8 in The American. The loss snapped the Tigers' three-match win streak. Temple, which is in third place in the league's standings, is 16-6 overall and 9-3 in the conference.

Memphis attempts to get back in the win column Sunday, Oct. 30 when it continues a Northeast road swing at Connecticut. Match time in Storrs, Conn., is 11 a.m. (CT).

Lilly posted her fifth-consecutive double-double with a team-high tying 14 kills and 14 digs. Bierria also had 14 kills and added 12 digs. Her 14 kills were a season best. Comperry (29-11) and Myers (19-10) had their double-doubles in assists and digs.

Mady Ruhlman had a team-high 20 digs, and freshman Brianna Kadiku tied a season high with nine blocks. She also had four kills. Senior McKenzie Hayes posted 12 kills.

The five-set match was the Tigers' fourth in the month of October. Memphis took Temple to five sets in their meeting in the Bluff City Oct. 2, with the Owls winning that match 3-2.

Friday's match on Temple's homecourt had 23 ties and 14 lead changes, with nine of the ties and six lead changes coming in the final set. The fifth set – the first team to 15, win by two -- went the distance and more, with the Owls winning 20-18.

The Tigers dropped the third set 25-23 to go down 2-1 in the match. In that set, the Owls grabbed an early advantage at 4-1 and extended it to five at 14-9. Temple was up 15-11 when Memphis made its push. Two Kadiku kills and one Lilly kill helped the Tigers tie the third set at 17-all. The Owls went ahead 19-17, but three Bierria kills gave Memphis its first lead of the set at 21-20.Temple, though, bounced back for a 24-21 advantage and held off the Tigers for the 25-23 win.

Memphis, however, responded in a big way in the fourth set to knot the match at 2-2. The Tigers roared out to a 4-0 lead and never lost the lead. There were no ties or lead changes in the fourth set. Memphis built on that early advantage and extended its lead to as many as eight before closing the set 25-16.

The Tigers went out to a 5-1 lead in the deciding fifth set, only to see the home squad go on a 7-3 run to tie the set at 8-all. From that point, there were nine ties and five lead changes in the set. Temple had the first opportunity to win the match leading 15-14, but a Lilly kill tied the set at 15-all. Memphis grabbed a 17-16 advantage with the chance for the win, but a Temple kill knotted the set again. The Owls broke an 18-all tie and won the match with back-to-back kills.

The teams split the opening two sets. Memphis won the first set 25-17, and Temple took the second 25-13.