Volleyball Preview: Alabama A&M

Wednesday, August 29

Memphis, Tenn.

7 pm

University of Memphis

Alabama A&M

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Aug 28, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Tigers host a mid-week match for first time since 2013.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After hosting the Memphis Invitational last weekend, the University of Memphis volleyball team returns to action Wednesday with a mid-week match against Alabama A&M. Match time is 7 p.m. (CT) at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, and admission is free.

The non-conference mid-week match is the first for the Tigers in five seasons. The last time Memphis hosted a scheduled mid-week match at home was in September of the 2013 campaign. The Tigers hosted Arkansas State on Sept. 17, 2013.

Memphis did play a conference match mid-week last season, but it was a make-up after the originally-scheduled match was postponed. The Tigers were slated to play at Tulane on Oct. 8, 2017 (Sunday), but the impending arrival of Hurricane Nathan to the Gulf Coast that weekend forced the match to be rescheduled for Oct. 17 (Tuesday).

Memphis/Alabama A&M Breakdown

	Memphis	Alabama A&M
2018 Record	1-2	2-2
Series Record	UM leads 7-0
Kills Leader	Hannah Flowers, 23	Jaelin Gant, 27
Assists Leader	Molly Murrihy, 96	Megan Evans, 42
Digs Leader	Kaitlyn Gehler, 30	Maci Battle, 22
Blocks Leader	Kelsey Walter, 11	Maya Evans, 9

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
"We have a quick turnaround from the weekend with Alabama A&M tomorrow night, and we got in a couple of practices the last two days. They have an athletic team, and they also got some matches under their belt last weekend. Playing the mid-week match gives us an opportunity to work on some things and also put in some new things with our systems."

Tigers Tidbits

Wednesday's match is the Tigers' fourth straight at home to open the season. It is the longest season-opening homestand since 2016 when Memphis opened that season with back-to-back home tournaments (six matches).
Memphis and Alabama A&M meet for the first time since the 2013 season. The Tigers won all seven previous meetings, and all seven were played at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Sophomore Hannah Flowers is closing in on 300 kills for her career. She entered 2018 with 257 kills and added 23 more last weekend to bring her career total to 280.
Last weekend, four newcomers – Natalie Benson, Kaitlyn Gehrler, Molly Murrihy and Meredith Wallace – made their collegiate debuts. Three others – Bre Carlton, Martina Faietti and Anna Palmer – made their debuts as Tigers.
Seniors Sarah Marlatt, Mady Ruhlman and Kelsey Walter will see a familiar face on the Alabama A&M side of the net Wednesday. Lady Bulldogs senior Jaelin Gant began her career at Memphis on the 2015 Tigers squad. All four players were freshmen on that Memphis team that went 19-14 overall and 10-10 in The American.
An Olympic medalist will be in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse Wednesday night. Alabama A&M head coach Rose Powell was a member of the U.S. women's volleyball team that won silver at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Calif. The silver-medal finish was U.S. women's volleyball's best finish at that time. Since then, the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) teams have tied that silver-medal performance.