Volleyball Preview: SMU, Houston

Friday, November 2

Dallas, Texas

7 pm

University of Memphis

SMU*

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Nov 01, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Tigers hit the road for second round with the Mustangs, Cougars.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis volleyball team heads back on the road for American Athletic Conference action this weekend. The Tigers face SMU and Houston.

This weekend begins the "second-time-around" portion of the schedule for conference foes the Tigers play twice this season. Memphis hosted Houston and SMU in mid-October and swept the matches, defeating the Cougars 3-1 Oct. 12 and the Mustangs 3-2 Oct. 14.

Memphis' American Athletic Conference Road Weekend

Date/Day	Opponent	Time
Nov. 2/Friday	at SMU	7 pm
Nov. 4/Sunday	at Houston	1 pm

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
"That's what conference play is all about. You have to be prepared when you go on the road. We're facing two teams that we managed victories against them last time, but now we're in their house. We have to produce on the road.

"Houston is playing well right now. They beat Wichita State, and they took league leader UCF to five sets. SMU has also played well and is sitting above us in the standings. We'll have to be on our game this weekend."

(On playing conference opponents a second time this season)
"You're going back and reviewing film (from our previous matches against them), and then you're also looking at film from their recent matches. It's like a little chess match, and it's a challenge."

Memphis/Opponent Breakdown

	Memphis	SMU	Houston
2018 Record	11-12, 4-7 The American	8-13, 5-6 The American	14-12, 1-10 The American
Series		SMU leads 15-6	Houston leads 27-16
Last Meeting/2018		Memphis 3-2 win (@Memphis)	Memphis 3-1 win (@Memphis)
Kills Leader	Hannah Flowers, 307	Brittany Adams, 238	Megan Duncan, 287
Assists Leader	Molly Murrihy, 810	Kendall Patterson, 491	Abby Irvine, 606
Digs Leaders	Kaitlyn Gehler, 299	Montana Watts, 451	Katie Karbo, 503
Blocks Leader	Kelsey Walter, 107	Lexi Nordmann, 86 Meryn Kennedy, 86	Kendall Haywood, 108
Aces Leader	Hannah Flowers, 39	Kendall Patterson, 19	Megan Duncan, 25 Katie Karbo, 25

Tigers Tidbits

Memphis has won six of the last seven matches in the series with Houston, including the Tigers' Oct. 12 win over the Cougars at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
The Tigers' victory over SMU Oct. 14 was the first over the Mustangs by this year's senior class.
Memphis' last win over the Mustangs in Dallas came in the 2007 season. The date of that Tigers' victory in Dallas: Nov. 2, 2007. The date for Memphis' match at SMU: Nov. 2.
One Tiger will be at "home" Friday when Memphis faces SMU at Moody Coliseum. Senior Kelsey Walter is from Dallas, Texas.
Sunday's match versus Houston is a reunion for two international players. Memphis' Agnes Karm and Houston's Silvia Pertens both hail from Estonia and attended Audentes School in Tallinn, Estonia. Pertens, a sophomore, has played in all 26 matches for the Cougars. Karm, a freshman who arrived on Memphis campus just as the season started, has not seen any action this season.
Sophomore Hannah Flowers leads the Tigers with 39 service aces. Flowers' 39 aces are the most by a Tiger in a season since Hajnalka Molnar had 41 in 2011.
The Tigers have won four of their last six matches. The last time Memphis had a "four-wins-in-six-matches" stretch was in 2016.
Sunday's match features two of the American Athletic Conference's top blockers. The Tigers' Kelsey Walter is third in total blocks in the league, and Houston's Kendall Haywood is seventh.
This week, four Tigers rank in the top-10 in four statistical categories in The American, and they are: Hannah Flowers (4^th) and Kelsea Bivins (7^th) in kills; Molly Murrihy (2^nd) in assists; Flowers (2^nd) in service aces; and Kelsey Walter (3^rd) in total blocks.