Volleyball Preview: Tulsa, Wichita State

Friday, September 21

Tulsa, Okla.

7 pm

University of Memphis

Tulsa*

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Sep 20, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Tigers open conference play on the road this weekend.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis volleyball team returns to the court for the opening weekend of American Athletic Conference play in 2018. The Tigers are on the road at Tulsa Friday at 7 p.m. (CT) and move on to Wichita State for a 1 p.m. match Sunday.

For the sixth-straight year, Memphis begins conference play on the road. The last time the Tigers played a conference opener at home was in 2012, which was Memphis' last season in Conference USA. The Tigers are 3-6 in road matches to start conference action since 2013.

Memphis' American Athletic Conference Road Weekend

Date/Day	Opponent	Time (CT)
Sept. 21/Friday	at Tulsa	7 p.m.
Nov. 23/Sunday	at Wichita State	1 p.m.

Memphis/Opponents Breakdown

	Memphis	Tulsa	Wichita State
2018 Record	7-5	7-4	5-6
Series		Tulsa leads 14-13	WSU leads 3-1
Last Meeting/2017		Memphis 3-0 win (@Tulsa)	Wichita State 3-0 win (@Wichita)
Kills Leader	Hannah Flowers, 139	Emily Thornson, 133	Tabitha Brown, 117
Assists Leader	Molly Murrihy, 374	Moriah Pardo, 286	Kali Eaken, 269
Digs Leader	Kaitlyn Gehler, 148	Taylor Horsfall, 226	Giorgia Civita, 229
Blocks Leader	Kelsey Walter, 55	Callie Cook, 34	Emma Wright, 30
Aces Leader	Hannah Flowers, 27	Taylor Horsfall, 8	Megan Taflinger, 14

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
(On team's progress)
"The buy-in continues. They're working hard in practice every day from the freshmen all the way up to the seniors. We need that. We have to have that competition in practice and then carry it over to the weekends (matches)."

(On weather cancelling last weekend's trip to Washington, D.C.)
"We made a great decision for our student-athletes. We wanted to make sure they were safe and also make sure they didn't miss class time. I wish we could have played, but it gave the players some time off and gave our staff time to recruit."

(On practice schedule last weekend)
"We really went hard on Thursday. Then, we gave them three days off over the weekend. They got to attend our football game Friday night. We got back in the gym Monday and had a fantastic practice."

(On the American Athletic Conference)
"The quality of teams in this league is top-notch. From top-to-bottom, every team is competitive. You have to bring your best game each match. And, going on the road, you have to be good. You have to play a solid game and a low-error game."

Tigers Tidbits

Memphis withdrew from the Dig The District Invitational in Washington, D.C., last weekend due to weather concerns caused by Hurricane Florence. The two-day tournament was hosted by Georgetown and George Washington. It was the first time Memphis did not play a scheduled match since 2005. That season, Hurricane Rita initially forced the postponement of matches versus Houston (in Houston) and Rice (in Memphis). Later, those matches were not rescheduled.
This weekend is the only time the Tigers face Tulsa and Wichita State in 2018. In fact, Memphis plays its four one-time foes the first two weeks of the conference season. Next weekend, Memphis hosts USF and UCF in the only encounters with those two league opponents this season. Memphis faces the other seven league foes twice.
Memphis travels to Tulsa, Okla., Friday, and the Tigers have been quite successful in the Reynolds Center. Since the two programs became American Athletic Conference rivals, Memphis has won three of the four matches played at Tulsa, including last season's 3-1 victory in mid-November.
The Tigers make only their second trip in program history to the state of Kansas Sunday when they battle the Shockers. Last season, Memphis made its maiden voyage to the Sunflower State, and the Shockers won the match 3-0.
In wrapping up the non-league portion of the schedule, four Tigers earned all-tournament team recognition. The honored Tigers are: Kelsea Bivins (UT Martin Skyhawk Invitational/Tiger Invitational), Hannah Flowers (Tiger Invitational Most Outstanding Player), Sarah Marlatt (Memphis Invitational) and Kelsey Walter (Tiger Invitational).
The Tigers set an American Athletic Conference match record (3 sets) for aces. Memphis served a conference-record 14 aces in the 3-0 win over North Alabama Sept. 8 to clinch the Tiger Invitational championship. Freshman Natalie Benson led the Tigers with a career-high six aces in the match.
Kelsey Walter has been a blocking machine early in 2018. She has seven matches with five or more total blocks, including a career-high 10 versus UT Martin Aug. 31. The 10 total blocks versus the Skyhawks were the most by a Tiger since 2007 when Shelby Burton had 11 total blocks versus Eastern Illinois (Aug. 31, 2007). The 10 block assists were the most by a Tiger since 1998 when Jenni Roselli had 11 against Ole Miss (Oct. 20, 1998).
This week, four Tigers rank in the top-10 in five statistical categories in The American, and they are: Hannah Flowers (6^th) and Kelsey Walter (9^th) in hitting percentage; Flowers (4^th) and Kelsea Bivins (7^th) in kills; Molly Murrihy (2^nd) in assists; Flowers (1^st) in service aces; and Walter (1^st) in total blocks.
In the conference team statistical rankings, Memphis ranks in the top-five in hitting percentage (5^th), assists (3^rd), kills (4^th), total blocks (5^th) and service aces (3^rd).