Volleyball Falls At Houston Friday

Friday, October 6

Houston, Texas

7 pm CT

University of Memphis

7-10, 0-5American

Houston

6-7, 2-3American

Memphis

Houston

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Oct 07, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Memphis-Houston Boxscore Memphis Season Statistics (Overall)Memphis Season Statistics (Conference Only)

Bierria leads the way with nine kills, nine digs.

HOUSTON, Texas – University of Memphis sophomore Tai Bierria nearly had a double-double with nine kills and nine digs, but Houston defeated the Tigers 3-0 in American Athletic Conference volleyball action Friday.

Houston won the match by scores of 25-13, 25-13 and 27-25. With the setback, Memphis fell to 7-10 overall and 0-5 in the league. The Cougars improved to 6-7 overall and 2-3 in league play.

The Tigers' conference road trip was slated to continue this weekend, with Memphis traveling from Houston to New Orleans, La., to face Tulane Sunday. However, the match versus the Green Wave has been postponed as a result of Hurricane Nathan's arrival Sunday.

Up Next
Memphis returns home next weekend to host Tulsa and SMU in American Athletic Conference action at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The Golden Hurricane visit Friday, Oct. 13, and the Mustangs follow on Sunday, Oct. 15. Following Sunday's match, the Tigers are hosting a clinic for youth in second through eighth grades.

Tigers Tidbits

Tai Bierria recorded her eighth match with nine or more kills this season.
Tai Bierria's nine kills led Memphis Friday. It was the first time she led the Tigers in kills since she had 15 in a win over Sam Houston State Sept. 8.
Senior Faith Myers had 20 assists Friday. It was her 13^th match of the season in which she logged 20 or more assists.
Memphis' four total blocks Friday was the squad's lowest for a match in 2017.
With her 10 assists Friday, Tia Gleason recorded her third-straight match with double-digit assists. This season, Gleason has played in five matches and has double-figures assists in all five matches.

Memphis vs. Houston Stats Leaders

Statistic	Memphis	Houston
Kills	Tai Bierria, 9 Brianna Kadiku, 7	Sarah Afflerbaugh/Megan Duncan/Brianna Gardner, 10
Assists	Faith Myers, 20 Tia Gleason, 10	Abby Irvine, 22 Keandra McCardell, 14
Digs	Mady Ruhlman, 14 Tai Bierria, 9	Katie Karbo, 14 Sarah Afflerbaugh, 11
Total Blocks	Brianna Kadiku, 2 Daija Lowe, 2	Brianna Gardner, 6 Chenelle Walker, 5

How It Happened

Overall Match
- The match had 14 ties and five lead changes.
- Memphis' record in three-set matches is 5-3 this season.
Set One (Houston 25-13)
- The home team bolted out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed in the set.
- The closest Memphis got was within seven at 15-8. The Tigers used a 6-0 run to close the gap.
- Brianna Kadiku paced the Tigers' spurt with one kill and two combo-blocks with Daija Lowe.
- From that point, Houston finished off the opening set with a 10-5 run for the win.
Set Two (Houston 25-13)
- Unlike the first set, Memphis stayed within striking distance in the early-going and only trailed 5-4.
- The Cougars then put together a 6-0 spurt to take an 11-4 lead and did not trail the rest of the game.
- The Tigers pulled to within five at 15-10. Kills from Tai Bierria and Kelsey Walter helped the Memphis run.
- Memphis pulled to within five points two additional times at 16-11 and 17-12, but got no closer.
- Houston closed the second set with a 6-0 run.
Set Three (Houston 27-25)
- The third set had 12 of the 14 ties and four of the five lead changes in the match.
- Seven of the set's 12 ties came in the first 20 points, with the last tie at 10-all.
- Four different Tigers had kills in the set's opening 20 points, including three from Hannah Flowers and two from Natale Zanellato.
- The score went back-and-forth and was knotted at 13-all when Houston pushed ahead.
- The Cougars used a 4-0 run to take a 17-13 advantage.
- Houston maintained its four-point lead at 23-19 when Memphis made its final push.
- Two Kadiku kills and one Bierria kill closed the gap to 24-22.
- Bierria knocked down two more kills to tie the set at 24-all, and then added another to knot the game at 25-all.
- Houston, though, scored the next two points for the set and match victory.