Volleyball Posts Season-Opening Sweep

Friday, August 30

Charleston, Ill.

3 pm CT

University of Memphis

2-0 (2-0Invite)

South Dakota State

0-1 (0-1Invite)

South Dakota State

Memphis

Photo by: Sandra King, EIU

Aug 30, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Boxscore (UM 3, SDSU 1)

Bianco, Wallace lead the Tigers in both matches.

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Guess Meredith Wallace and Sabrina Bianco wanted to save their best for their head coach's birthday.

Wallace pounded out a career-high 19 kills and Bianco recorded a career-best 47 assists to lift the University of Memphis volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over South Dakota State in the Tigers' second match of the day at the EIU Panther Invitational presented by Holiday Inn Express.

The Tigers took the second match by scores of 25-17, 25-20, 20-25 and 25-22. Memphis took the floor for its second match just over an hour after wrapping up its first victory of the season over Drake earlier in the day. The Tigers completed their two matches within a six-hour span of time on Friday.

Up Next
Memphis is 2-0 after the first day of the tournament and faces host Eastern Illinois on Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT). A victory would give the Tigers the EIU Panther Invitational title.

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
"We learned a lot on the fly today. To play back-to-back matches with about 30-to-45 minutes of rest in between and get a second win, I was pleased.

"What we have to do is play consistent all the way though a match, but I like how we fought. It was great to see Caitlin (Shultz) back in action after being out last fall. It was like she hadn't missed a beat. She fought hard for some kills. Meredith (Wallace) had two big matches today and led us in kills and hit for a very high percentage.

"I thought we did a better job getting our middles involved in the second match, and they came up with big points. One of the biggest things we learned is we have more than one person that can carry an offensive load, and opponents can just camp out on one hitter.

"We have another quick turnaround and play host Eastern Illinois tomorrow morning. And today's two wins are the best birthday gifts a coach could ask for!"

Tigers Tidbits

Meredith Wallace downed a then career-high 18 kills in Friday's season opener vs. Drake only to follow up that performance with 19 kills in the win over South Dakota State. Prior to Friday, Wallace's career-best was 10 kills vs. Louisiana Monroe last season.
Meredith Wallace also posted a career-high 11 digs to record her first career double-double. Her previous career-high for digs was 10 in two matches in 2018.
After handing out a then career-high 46 assists in the win over Drake, Sabrina Bianco also did one better in the victory over South Dakota State with a career-best 47 assists. Prior to Friday, her career-high was 42 assists vs. North Florida in 2018.
Seven players made their Tiger debuts Friday, including four freshmen.
Freshman libero Mia Migliore averaged 18 digs in Friday's two matches (19 vs. Drake/17 vs. South Dakota State).
In her first match action in over a year, graduate student Caitlin Schultz posted double-digit kills in each match (10 vs. Drake/13 vs. South Dakota State).