Volleyball Preview: Beale Street Challenge

Friday, September 20

Memphis, Tenn.

10 am CT

University of Memphis

North Alabama (Campus School Day)

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Sep 19, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Tigers take undefeated record into this weekend's action.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Tigers are in the top-10! The Tigers are in the top-10!

While not ranked in the national poll, the University of Memphis volleyball team enters this weekend as one of the country's 10 undefeated squads. The Tigers are 9-0 and tied for the second-best record in the nation with Coastal Carolina, Hawai'i and Temple. Pittsburgh and Robert Morris lead the nation with 10-0 records. California and Missouri are 8-0, and Baylor and Nebraska are 7-0.

Memphis puts its winning streak – the second-best start to a season in program history – on the line in this weekend's Beale Street Challenge. The two-day tournament is being held at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, and admission is free for all matches.

Beale Street Challenge Schedule

Date/Day	Match	Time (CT)
Sept. 20/Friday	North Alabama vs. Memphis (Campus School Match)	10 am
	Southeast Missouri vs. Toledo	12:30 pm
	North Alabama vs. Southeast Missouri	4:30 pm
	Toledo vs. Memphis (Raid The Roane Match)	7 pm
Sept. 21/Saturday	North Alabama vs. Toledo	10 am
	Southeast Missouri vs. Memphis	1 pm

Memphis/Opponents Breakdown

	Memphis	North Alabama	Southeast Missouri	Toledo
2019 Record	9-0	2-8	5-6	6-3
Series	-------	UofM leads 5-0	UofM leads 11-6	Toledo leads 2-0
Kills Leader	Meredith Wallace, 114	Alyssa Dutton, 87	Laney Malloy, 131	Chloee Kleespies, 97
Assists Leader	Sabrina Bianco, 338	Breylee Linder, 202	Claire Ochs, 365	Megan Beasley, 227
Digs Leader	Kaitlyn Gehler, 102	Mackenzie Sullivan, 108	Tara Beilsmith, 199	Rhyen Neal, 126
Blocks Leader	Sabria Cooper, 29	Anna Katherine Griggs, 20	Krista Berns, 40	Zoe Bimbrich, 27

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
(On the 9-0 start)
"We really don't talk about our record. We talk about what's in front of us, trying to secure that next match. We're breaking down things into mini-seasons and looking at each weekend by itself."

(On Hannah Flowers' play last weekend)
"Hannah carried a great load for us last weekend in terms of number of kills, block set-ups and her serve. She's been good at the service line whether with an ace or putting the opponent out-of-system."

(On contributions from several players)
"We also had some great bench play (last weekend). Anna came in against IUPUI and had the match-winning ace. To get different players on all-tournament teams and have other coaches recognize that has been one of the neat things about this season so far."

(On Campus School Match during the Beale Street Challenge)
"It's fantastic when you get a couple hundred kids in there, and they want to see excitement and action. It's tough in these tournaments with the mid-day matches and fans having trouble attending. To have that creativity and bring people in to fill the stands, we're looking forward to it."

Tigers Tidbits

This weekend, Memphis is vying for its fourth in-season tournament crown of 2019. The last time the Tigers won four in-season tournament championships in a single campaign was in 1997. However, that Tigers squad did not go undefeated in winning those four tournament crowns.
The Tigers face North Alabama for a second-straight season. In 2018, Memphis defeated the Lions 3-0. For Memphis' other two foes this weekend, it's been a while since it played Southeast Missouri and Toledo. The Tigers last met Southeast Missouri in 2014 and Toledo in 2012.
Speaking of last year's match against North Alabama, Memphis set an American Athletic Conference record in the win over the Lions. The Tigers served 14 aces in the three-set victory. The 14 aces are a conference record for a three-set match.
Memphis is ranked in the top-15 among the NCAA leaders in two service aces categories. The Tigers are sixth in aces per set and 11^thin total aces. Hannah Flowers ranks among the NCAA leaders in both aces per set (4^th) and total aces (4^th).
Meredith Wallace leads Memphis with 114 kills and that total already surpasses her kills from an injury-plagued 2018 (71 kills).
Memphis is holding its opponents to a .164 hitting percentage, which is 27^thnationally and third in The American.
Eight different Tigers have earned in-season tournament honors in 2019. The lone repeat honoree is Hannah Flowers, who was named to the EIU Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team and also took home the Saluki Invitational Most Outstanding Player award.