Volleyball Preview: Temple, Connecticut

Friday, October 19

Philadelphia, Pa.

6 pm

University of Memphis

Temple*

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Oct 18, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Tigers on the road for first time since Sept. 23.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After a five-match homestand the last month, the University of Memphis volleyball team heads back out on the road for an American Athletic Conference weekend. The Tigers play at Temple Friday and Connecticut Sunday.

Memphis carries some momentum on this road trip after a home sweep of Houston and SMU last weekend. The Tigers defeated the Cougars 3-1 Oct. 12 and the Mustangs 3-2 Oct. 14.

Memphis' American Athletic Conference Road Weekend

Date/Day	Opponent	Time (CT)
Oct. 19/Friday	at Temple	6 p.m.
Oct. 21/Sunday	at Connecticut	11 a.m.

Memphis/Opponent Breakdown

	Memphis	Temple	Connecticut
2018 Record	9-10, 2-5 The American	4-15, 1-6 The American	11-9, 3-4 The American
Series		Temple leads 8-2	UConn leads 6-5
Last Meeting/2017		Memphis 3-2 win (@Memphis)	UConn 3-2 win (@Memphis)
Kills Leader	Hannah Flowers, 253	Katerina Papazoglou, 168	Caylee Parker, 271
Assists Leader	Molly Murrihy, 646	Hannah Vandegrift, 394	Emma Turner, 768
Digs Leader	Kaitlyn Gehler, 232	Mia Heirakuji, 288	Elizabeth Kline, 318
Blocks Leader	Kelsey Walter, 89	Iva Deak, 64	Genna Florig, 58
Aces Leader	Hannah Flowers, 31	Mia Heirakuji, 17	Emma Turner, 14

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
"We're going to two tough places to play, and I've been to both of them previously. They are two different teams. We have to focus on Temple first and dial in on what they do the next couple of days in practice. We'll travel to Philadelphia on Thursday, play Temple Friday and then make the trek to Connecticut for Sunday. At the end of the day, everyone can win. It's just a matter of how many players are on and how you can grind out a victory on the road."

Tigers Tidbits

This weekend is Memphis' second-latest road trip to the East Coast to play Temple and Connecticut since The American formed in 2013. The latest trip into a season to face the Owls and Huskies came in 2016 when Memphis made an Oct. 28-30 venture.
Memphis and Temple are meeting for the 11^th time, and all 11 encounters – including this Friday – have come as American Athletic Conference foes. As for Connecticut, Sunday's match is Memphis' 12^th time it has faced the Huskies. Ten of the previous 11 match-ups were as league opponents. The Tigers and Huskies also had one non-conference match as part of the 1991 Connecticut Challenge in Storrs.
Last season, Memphis ended Temple's six-match win streak in the series with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Owls at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The Tigers only victory in the City of Brotherly Love came in the 2014 campaign, a 3-1 win on Oct. 12. The Owls hold a 4-1 series advantage in matches played in Philadelphia.
The Huskies have won five-straight over Memphis, with the last Tigers' victory in the series coming in the 2015 season. Memphis defeated Connecticut 3-1 in Storrs, Conn., on Oct. 4, 2015. The Tigers won four of the first five matches between the two programs as American Athletic Conference foes.
Sophomore Hannah Flowers went over the 500-kills plateau for her career last weekend. She now has 510 kills. In wins over Houston and SMU, Flowers combined for 38 kills, including a career-high tying 20 versus the Mustangs. For her efforts, she was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll and the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week. It was the second time this season Flowers earned both accolades.
Head coach Sean Burdette spoke highly of Molly Murrihy's play last weekend. The freshman setter had a career-high 53 assists in the win over SMU. The 53 assists were the most by a Tigers setter since the 2014 campaign when Veronica Zimmerman had 55 helpers versus Tulsa on Oct. 3 of that season. This year, Murrihy has 12 matches with 30 or more assists, including the last four outings.
Senior Mady Ruhlman made her return to the court last weekend after missing three matches due to injury and made an impact. She had 21 digs in the two victories, including 16 versus SMU. Ruhlman, who joined the Tigers' 1,000-digs club earlier this season, has logged double-digit digs in four of the last five matches in which she appeared.
This week, three Tigers rank in the top-10 in five statistical categories in The American, and they are: Hannah Flowers (7^th) in hitting percentage; Flowers (4^th) in kills; Molly Murrihy (2^nd) in assists; Flowers (2^nd) in service aces; and Kelsey Walter (2^nd) in total blocks.