Volleyball Drops Conference Opener Friday

Friday, September 22

Storrs, Conn.

6 pm CT

University of Memphis

7-6, 0-1AAC

Connecticut

8-5, 1-0AAC

Memphis

UConn

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Sep 22, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Memphis Season Statistics Memphis Conference Statistics Only Memphis-Connecticut Boxscore

Tigers continue league-opening road trip at Temple Sunday.

STORRS, Conn. – University of Memphis sophomore Brianna Kadiku registered nine kills and five total blocks, but Connecticut came away with the 3-1 victory in the American Athletic Conference opener for both squads Friday.

Connecticut took the match by scores of 25-17, 25-15, 21-25 and 25-19. With the setback, Memphis fell to 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the league. The Huskies improve to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Freshman Hannah Flowers added eight kills, and freshman Alyssa Kronberg led the Tigers with a match-high 18 digs.

Up Next
The Tigers continue their American Athletic Conference opening-weekend trip Sunday, Sept. 24 when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to face the Temple Owls. Match time is 12 p.m. (CT).

Tigers Tidbits

Six Tigers saw their first American Athletic Conference action Friday. The six newcomers were four freshmen (Hannah Flowers, Kate Hoerdemann, Alyssa Kronberg, Daija Lowe), one junior college transfer (Kelsea Bivins) and one redshirt freshman (Natale Zanellato).
Sophomore Brianna Kadiku had her third-straight match with eight or more kills and four or more total blocks. In the last three matches – including Friday – Kadiku is averaging 9.0 kills and 4.7 total blocks.
Redshirt sophomore Sarah Marlatt posted seven kills and five total blocks Friday. Her seven kills were the most since she had nine in her 2017 debut vs. Green Bay Aug. 26. Marlatt's five total blocks were her most since she had seven in a Sept. 1 win over UT Martin.
Freshman Alyssa Kronberg logged double-digits digs for the eighth-straight match. She has double-figures digs in all but one match this season.
Freshman Daija Lowe had a season-high tying four total blocks vs. the Huskies.
Senior Faith Myers had only 16 assists vs. Connecticut Friday, the first time in eight matches that she had fewer than 20 assists. Myers had a season-high 44 assists vs. UT Martin Sept. 16.
Sophomore Tai Bierria did not register a kill in Friday's match. It is the first time she did not have a kill since Nov. 18, 2016, at Tulsa – a stretch of 15 matches ago.

Memphis vs. Connecticut Stats Leaders

Statistic	Memphis	Connecticut
Kills	Brianna Kadiku, 9 Hannah Flowers, 8	Kayla Williams, 18
Assists	Faith Myers, 16 Regan Comperry, 13	Emma Turner, 38
Digs	Alyssa Kronberg, 18	Iman McGary, 12 Kayla Williams, 10
Total Blocks	Brianna Kadiku, 5 Sarah Marlatt, 5	Tosin Adeniyi, 4

How It Happened

Overall Match
- The match had 22 ties and 11 lead changes.
- Memphis' record in four-set matches dropped to 1-4 this season.
- The Tigers are now 1-4 when they drop the opening set in 2017.
Set One (Connecticut 25-17)
- The set began with three ties in the first six points, but then the Huskies used an 11-3 run to jump out to a 14-6 lead.
- Connecticut built its lead to as many as 10 points at 23-13, before winning the first set 25-17.
Set Two (Connecticut 25-15)
- The script was much the same as the first set in the second set's opening moments.
- The set was tied at 4-all, before the Huskies moved out to a 10-7 lead.
- Unlike the first set, Memphis answered the Connecticut run and knotted the score at 10-all. Kills from Kelsea Bivins and Hannah Flowers sparked the short spurt.
- The Huskies, however, had the set's final run, pushing out to a 19-13 lead on the way to the victory.
Set Three (Memphis 25-21)
- After the break, it looked as if the Huskies would cruise to a 3-0 win and jumped out to a 6-3 lead.
- An energized Memphis squad, though, stayed within striking distance, and after two Flowers kills and a Marlatt service ace, the Tigers knotted the third-set score at 11-all.
- Connecticut regained the lead at 15-12, but Memphis did not fold.
- The Tigers responded with an 8-3 spurt to gain a 20-18 lead. The Tigers did not trail the remainder of the set.
- Four different Tigers had kills in the run that pushed Memphis into the lead.
- Memphis and Connecticut were tied at 20-all and 21-all, but the Tigers closed the set with the final four points for the win.
- Kate Hoerdemann and Flowers each logged a kill in the set-closing run.
Set Four (Connecticut 25-19)
- The Huskies grabbed an early 4-1 advantage, but Memphis answered to tie the set at 9-all.
- Memphis had two-leads at 11-9 (Kadiku kill) and 12-10 (Hoerdemann kill), but the home team kept the pressure on.
- Connecticut went on a 7-3 run to take a 17-15 lead, and the Huskies did not trail the rest of the match.
- The Tigers closed to within one at 19-18 on a Kadiku kill.
- The Huskies finished off the set and match with a 6-1 run.