Volleyball Ties Best Start In History

Friday, September 20

Memphis, Tenn.

10 am CT

University of Memphis

10-0

North Alabama (Campus School Day)

2-7

North Ala.

Memphis

The University of Memphis Campus School kids cheered the Tigers to victory Friday.

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Sep 20, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Tigers 3-0 win Friday pushes record to 10-0 on the season.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The 2019 Tigers tied the record! The 2019 Tigers tied the record!

The University of Memphis volleyball kicked off the Beale Street Challenge Friday morning with a hard-fought 3-0 win over North Alabama, and with the victory, tied the best start in program history at 10-0. The 2019 squad tied the 2001 team's 10-0 start.

The Tigers also remained one of the nation's unbeaten programs with the win. Memphis now is one of eight undefeated teams in NCAA Division I volleyball this season. The seven other unbeaten NCAA Division I programs are Baylor, California, Coastal Carolina, Hawai'I, Missouri, Pittsburgh and Robert Morris.

Memphis won the match by scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 30-28. North Alabama fell to 2-9.

Hannah Flowers and Meredith Wallace led the offense with 13 kills apiece, and Sabrina Bianco had a match-high 38 assists. Kaitlyn Gehler collected a match-best 18 digs.

Up Next
Memphis returns to action later Friday with a 7 p.m. (CT) match against Toledo in the 2019 Beale Street Challenge.

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
"A win is a win right now, and we'll take it. That was a tough team in North Alabama. We know they were going to throw some different things at us. We may have let up a little bit after that second set, but credit them for coming out swinging and firing. For us, it's not about the record; it's about getting better every time out."

Statistic	Memphis Leaders	North Alabama Leaders
Kills	Hannah Flowers, 13 Meredith Wallace, 13	Maggie Sullivan, 9
Assists	Sabrina Bianco, 38	Breylee Linder, 12
Digs	Kaitlyn Gehler, 18	Elizabeth Ford, 10
Aces	Three players, 2	Two players, 2
Blocks	Sabria Cooper, 2	Maggie Sullivan, 5

Tigers Tidbits

Sabria Cooper downed seven kills Friday. It was the seventh time this season she had five or more kills in a match.
Sabrina Bianco posted her eighth 30-plus assists match of the season. It was the 12^thof her career.
Kaitlyn Gehler recorded 18 digs versus North Alabama. It was her 23^rddouble-figures digs performance of her career.

First Set

The set started out close in the first 12 points with five ties, the last being at 6-all.
Memphis pulled away with a 9-0 run to take a 15-6 lead and put the set out of reach.
In the run, the Tigers won eight of their nine points off Gigi Crescenzo's service game. Two of the points were off Crescenzo aces.
North Alabama went on a 6-3 spurt to cut the lead to 18-12, but the Lions did not get closer.
Memphis closed the set on a 7-1 run for the 25-14 set victory.

Second Set

Like the opening set, the teams played the first eight points back-and-forth with the score tied at 4-all.
The remainder of the set saw Memphis push ahead and North Alabama fight back.
The Tigers grabbed a 9-6 advantage on a Meredith Wallace kill, but the Lions went on a 3-0 run to tie the set at 9-all.
Memphis answered with a 5-0 spurt for a 14-9 lead. The Tigers scored all five points off North Alabama errors.
The Tigers maintained their slim margin at 21-16 when the Lions made a final push.
North Alabama put together a 5-0 spurt to tie the set at 21-all.
An Andrea O'Connor kill ended the Lions' run and gave Memphis a 22-21 lead.
Two Hannah Flowers' kills wrapped up the set for the Tigers at 25-22.

Third Set

The third set was nip-and-tuck from start to finish with 15 ties and seven lead changes. The largest lead was four points by North Alabama three times (16-12, 17-13, 20-16).
The Lions pushed out to a 7-5 advantage early on, but Memphis responded with a 5-2 spurt to regain the lead at 10-9.
North Alabama put together a 7-2 run to grab a 16-12 lead.
The Lions held their advantage until 22-20 at which time Memphis made its comeback.
The Tigers went on a 3-0 mini-run – aided by a Flowers' ace – for a 23-22 lead.
The set went into extras with the teams trading points.
After North Alabama knotted the score at 28-all, a Flowers' kill gave the Tigers a 29-28 lead.
Memphis secured the 30-28 victory on a North Alabama error.