Volleyball Preview: Tulane

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis volleyball continues its five-match homestand against Tulane with an earlier start time than the Tigers' usual Friday matches. The Tigers and Green Wave begin their American Athletic Conference battle at 4:30 p.m. (CT) at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Admission is free.
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If Tiger Nation sees a little more green at Friday's match, don't be alarmed. The Tigers volleyball team – along with other Memphis squads and fellow American Athletic Conference schools – are joining forces for Mental Health Awareness Week Oct. 1-7, and green is the color of mental health awareness nationally.

The conference is leading the charge to bring attention to this initiative with its Pow6rful Minds campaign. The week is being used to improve awareness of mental health issues and resources available to student-athletes with the goal of ending the stigma related to seeking help and promoting success through a healthy, powerful mind.

Memphis/Opponent Breakdown

	Memphis	Tulane
2018 Record	7-9, 0-4 The American	12-7, 0-4 The American
Series		UM leads 30-19
Last Meeting/2017		Memphis 3-2 win (@New Orleans)
Kills Leader	Hannah Flowers, 202	Lexie Douglas, 174
Assists Leader	Molly Murrihy, 519	Taylor Henigsman, 388
Digs Leader	Kaitlyn Gehler, 178	Kaylie McHugh, 303
Blocks Leader	Kelsey Walter, 69	Markenzie Benoit, 69
Aces Leader	Hannah Flowers, 29	Kaylie McHugh, 32

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
(On Friday's Tulane match)
"We have time this week to concentrate on one opponent, and it's nice to be able to focus only on Tulane. We moved the match time up to a Friday afternoon start because of an on-campus concert Friday night. We're hoping to draw a lot of faculty and staff to the match. Our players are inviting people to the match, and we want that support from the University side.

"Tulane is a physical team, very athletic. They took Wichita State to five sets. They are capable of beating anyone in the conference, and I expect it to be a dog fight Friday."

(On the recruiting weekend)
"We have a big recruiting weekend. We start with basketball's Memphis Madness Thursday. It's great for the recruits to visit and experience all these different things from football to basketball to volleyball. They'll get to see all the University and athletics department have to offer."

(On the team pushing through adversity)
"We have players that want to get better. They're getting extra reps (in practice), watching video and asking good questions. There's a desire, a hunger there (to get better). We need to get everyone back healthy and on the same page. It's great to see them all work so hard."

Tigers Tidbits

Memphis leads the all-time series 30-19 and has won nine of the last 10. The Tigers had an eight-match win streak in the series, before the Green Wave ended it in 2016 with a 3-0 victory in New Orleans (Nov. 11, 2016). The Tigers won last year's encounter, a 3-2 thriller in New Orleans.
Memphis is playing its first "one-match-only" weekend since 2013. In that American Athletic Conference inaugural season, Memphis had two weekends with one match, facing Temple both times.
Friday's match is the middle of a five-match homestand for the Tigers. Memphis hosted USF and UCF last weekend and faces Tulane Friday. The Tigers close the homestand Oct. 12-14 with matches at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse against Houston and SMU. It is the Tigers' longest conference homestand since 2008 when they played six-straight home league matches.
This week, four Tigers rank in the top-10 in five statistical categories in The American, and they are: Hannah Flowers (4^th) in hitting percentage; Flowers (4^th) and Kelsea Bivins (9^th) in kills; Molly Murrihy (2^nd) in assists; Flowers (1^st) in service aces; and Kelsey Walter (3^rd) in total blocks.

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Players Mentioned

Kelsea Bivins

Kaitlyn Gehler

Molly Murrihy

University of Memphis Athletics