Volleyball Begins Preseason Drills Saturday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The second season of the Sean Burdette era got underway Saturday with the start of the University of Memphis volleyball preseason camp. The 2019 Tigers had a full schedule with two practices and an afternoon appearance at Memphis FanFest.

Burdette's squad started the day with an early-morning practice and ended with an evening training session, both at the Larry O. Finch Center. In between, the team handed out schedule cards to Tigers fans at Memphis FanFest at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

"The players came in with a focused energy, which was a good way to start right off the bat," said Burdette. "We were able to come in and knock out a bunch of things in the first practice. We got an idea of what the new players are capable of and how our returnees have progressed over the summer in working with our strength coach Darin Lovat. Our whole staff is quite pleased with the starting point of this preseason."

Another positive Burdette and his staff have to start the 2019 preseason is a full roster with which to work. The Tigers carry 16 players on their current roster. Last August, Burdette's staff had only 13 players in the preseason, making it difficult to simulate "real match" situations.

"Having 16 players in the gym and having them healthy and ready to compete is great," Burdette said. "It allows us to do a lot of different things and use different lineups and combinations. Our numbers also allow our players to take breathers when needed. We have players that can step right in and continue to run drills."

With the first day of practice in the books, Burdette and the Tigers turn the page to their first full week of workouts, including two sessions and weight room training Sunday. Burdette likes what he saw after Day One, but realizes there is more work to be done.

"We'll try to figure out our pieces and how people play next to each other," said Burdette. "We'll continue implementing our offensive and defensive systems, which the players have done a good job of picking up on their own over the summer. Now is a continuation where the staff comes in and helps fine tune the defense Coach (Taylor) Unroe puts into play, and (assistant coach) Alexa (Wharton) and I work with the setters."

The Tigers open the 2019 campaign Aug. 30-31 at the EIU Panther Invitational in Charleston, Ill. Memphis faces Drake and South Dakota State Aug. 30 and wraps up action in the two-day tournament against host Eastern Illinois Aug. 31.

Memphis hosts its home opener the following weekend (Sept. 6-7) when the Tigers welcome Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Gardner-Webb and UT Martin to the Bluff City for the Tiger Brawl.

University of Memphis Athletics

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