Tigers Volleyball Drops Decision To Central Arkansas

Friday, August 26

Memphis, Tenn.

7 pm

University of Memphis

1-1

Central Arkansas

1-1

Central Arkansas

Memphis

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Tigers Volleyball Drops Decision To Central Arkansas

Aug 26, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Central Arkansas 3, Memphis 1

Lilly records career kill No. 900.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – University of Memphis senior Catlin Lilly went over the 900 career kills mark, but is wasn't enough as the Tigers fell to Central Arkansas 3-1 in Friday's final match of the 2016 Memphis Invitational.

Earlier in the day, Memphis defeated Chicago State 3-0. The Tigers return to action Saturday against Belmont at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The Memphis-Belmont match is the second of a doubleheader as Chicago State and Central Arkansas meet at 12 p.m. (CT).

Central Arkansas jumped out to a 2-0 set lead, taking the first two by scores of 25-19 and 25-20. Memphis responded with a 27-25 third-set win, but the Bears closed it out with a 25-17 victory in the fourth set.

In the loss, Lilly went over the 900-kills mark for her career. She entered 2016 with 880 career kills, and posted 22 kills in Friday's two matches to reach the milestone. Lilly now has 902 career kills.

Fellow senior Summer Morgan added 10 kills against the Bears. Regan Comperry had a match-high 38 assists and 11 digs, and Mady Ruhlman recorded a team-best 18 digs.

"Our players have a great desire to win and excel," said Tigers head coach April Jauregui. "I don't like to see disappointed faces when I go in the locker room, but I like the way they are responding to this setback. As a coach, it tells me they are hungry for more.

"Tonight just boiled down to we did not serve and pass well enough to win. You have to serve and pass well to win. Central Arkansas put some pressure on us, and unfortunately, we were unable to combat that tonight."

In the first two sets, Memphis put itself in holes it was unable to climb out of. The Tigers trailed only 9-8 in the opening set, but a 12-6 Bears run gave the visitors a 21-14 lead to propel them to the 25-19 set victory.

A nearly same scenario happened in the second set. This time, though, Memphis held a 12-8 advantage, but Central Arkansas went on a 14-2 spurt to take a 22-14 lead. The Bears took the second set 25-20.

The third set was a close affair throughout, and the Bears held a 24-23 lead with the chance to close the match. Memphis, though, fought back for a 27-25 third-set win.

In the final set, Central Arkansas took an early 5-1 lead and never looked back.

Despite the setback, Memphis returns to action Saturday afternoon with an opportunity to get above .500 on the young season.

"Tomorrow against Belmont, we have to get back to the fundamentals," Jauregui said. "Belmont is a strong team, and we always have tough matches with them. We just need to be cleaner with the ball."