Tigers Volleyball On The Road For Third-Straight Week

Friday, September 8

Ruston, La.

10 am CT

University of Memphis

Sam Houston State

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Tigers Volleyball On The Road For Third-Straight Week

Sep 07, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Memphis to play in Lady Techster Invitational Sept. 8-9.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – For the third week in a row, the University of Memphis volleyball team is on the road, this time traveling to Ruston, La., to compete in the 2017 Lady Techster Invitational. The two-day tournament, hosted by Louisiana Tech, runs Sept. 8-9.

The Tigers got back to their winning ways at last weekend's Central Arkansas Invitational with a 2-1 mark. Memphis posted 3-0 victories over UT Martin and Little Rock to bring its season record to 2-4.

Lady Techster Invitational Schedule

Date/Day	Opponent	Time (CT)
Sept. 8/Friday	Sam Houston State	10 a.m.
	Louisiana Tech	7 p.m.
Sept. 9/Saturday	Arkansas-Pine Bluff	10 a.m.

Memphis/Opponents Breakdown

	Memphis	Sam Houston St.	Louisiana Tech	Ark.-Pine Bluff
2017 Record	2-4	1-6	1-5	1-6
Series Record	--	SHSU leads 2-0	UM leads 4-2	UM leads 3-0
Kills Leader	Hannah Flowers, 66	Brooke White, 81	Gina Cortesi, 76	Sheppy Taylor, 44
Assists Leader	Faith Myers, 138	Jaclyn Ward, 207	Brooke Short, 173	Britney Sahlmann, 96
Digs Leader	Alyssa Kronberg, 110	Brooke White, 67	Jacie McClure, 100	Jade Sanlin, 41
Blocks Leader	Brianna Kadiku, 23	Taylor Cunningham, 20	Madeline Davis, 29	Lisa Casimie, 14

Head coach April Jauregui comments on Lady Techster Invitational, recap of UCA Invitational
"At the UCA Invitational, we made some corrections from our first week of action at Eastern Illinois, and that was good to see. The more we continue to play, the more comfortable we get, especially since we're a brand new team.

"We were much better last weekend than we were in our first week of action. However, that's some of the growing pains you have to go through to gain experience. We're coming together, and we feel optimistic. We have to keep putting the pieces together.

"Our goal this weekend is to continue to make progress. We trying to making some progress with each in-season tournament so that we are ready when the conference schedule starts later this month.

"Sam Houston State has some talented players, and they're still trying to put some things together. We saw Louisiana Tech last weekend in Conway (at Central Arkansas). They had to play a match because the tournament they were scheduled to play got cancelled (due to Hurricane Harvey). Louisiana Tech has had a couple of tough losses, but it may stem from the travel they've had to do early this season. Arkansas-Pine Bluff plays a different style of volleyball than we usually face, but they are very competitive. Our players are going to have to be ready because Arkansas-Pine Bluff is a scrappy, athletic team."

Tigers Tidbits

The Tigers are opening a campaign with three-straight, regular-season tournaments on the road for the first time since 1991. That season, Memphis opened its 1991 schedule with road tournaments at Georgia (Bulldog Invitational), Wisconsin (Volleyball Monthly Invitational) and Southern Illinois (Saluki Invitational). The Tigers started the season with a 3-6 record in those first three road tournaments and bounced back for a winning campaign (20-15 record).
Memphis is making its first trip to Ruston, La., in program history. The previous six meetings vs. Louisiana Tech were played either in Memphis or at a neutral-site tournament. The two programs played in Memphis in 1991, 2006 and 2016. The neutral-site meetings came in 1992 (Louisiana Monroe 0Tournament), 2004 (Mississippi State/Microtel Classic) and 2005 (Mercer Bear Brawl).
The Tigers face Sam Houston State for the first time since 1992.
Memphis meets Arkansas-Pine for the first time at a neutral-site. All three previous encounters vs. the Lions were played at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Freshman Alyssa Kronberg is fourth in The American in digs per set (5.00) and is third in total digs (110).
Alyssa Kronberg is ranked among NCAA statistical leaders in digs per set (41^st) and total digs (90^th).
Sophomore Brianna Kadiku is seventh in the conference in hitting percentage (.341) and sixth in blocks per set (1.05).
Redshirt sophomore Sarah Marlatt ranks third in The American in service aces per set (0.46). She also is 12^th in blocks per set (0.92).