Volleyball Preview: Tulane, Houston

Friday, September 27

New Orleans, La.

7 pm CT

University of Memphis

Tulane*

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Sep 26, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Memphis opens conference play on the road for the seventh-straight season.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It should come as no surprise that University of Memphis volleyball team opens American Athletic Conference action on the road this weekend. It's become like a rite of passage for the Tigers since joining the league in 2013.

For the seventh season in a row, Memphis begins the conference portion of its schedule on the road with matches at Tulane and Houston. The last time the Tigers played a league opener at home was in 2012, which was Memphis' last season in Conference USA. Memphis is 2-4 in its previous six American Athletic Conference openers.

Memphis' American Athletic Conference Road Weekend

Date/Day	Opponent	Time (CT)
Sept. 27/Friday	at Tulane	7 p.m.
Sept. 29/Sunday	at Houston	1 p.m.

Memphis/Opponents Breakdown

	Memphis	Tulane	Houston
2019 Record	11-1	10-3	6-9
Series		UofM leads 30-21	Houston leads 28-16
Last Meeting		Tulane won 3-0 (in New Orleans)	Houston won 3-1 (in Houston)
Kills Leader	Meredith Wallace, 146	Lexie Douglas, 132	Abbie Jackson, 209
Assists Leader	Sabrina Bianco, 453	Amanda Giardina, 246	Abby Irvine, 545
Digs Leader	Kaitlyn Gehler, 154	Kaylie McHugh, 223	Katie Karbo, 328
Blocks Leader	Sabria Cooper, 35	Kayla Dinkins, 67	Rachel Tullos, 64
Aces Leader	Hannah Flowers, 31	Lexie Douglas, 18	Abbie Jackson, 20

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
(On last weekend's tournament)
"We expected all three teams to battle. We knew there were going to be challenges, and we knew we were going to get everything from each team we played. The more matches you go through and win, the larger that target on your back grows."

(On lessons learned from last weekend)
"The league is going to throw that (what we faced last weekend) at us and more."

(On Tulane)
"Tulane is a very physical team. They did a great job against LSU this past weekend. They are a team that you have to pay attention to multiple attackers. They are very balanced, very strong in a lot of areas. It's an environment that's tough to play in down there."

(On Houston)
"Houston runs a great tempo, and they have a good system in place. Their libero is playing really, really well. They are trying to play fast, and they're doing a nice job of that. They're a program that is turning the corner very quickly."

Tigers Tidbits

Since the addition of Wichita State for a 12-team league in 2017, the Tigers have a different road partner for the third-consecutive year. In that first season, Memphis was the Shockers' road partner, and in 2018, Tulane was the Tigers' cohort. This campaign, it changes again, and SMU is Memphis' road partner.
With the addition of the American Athletic Conference Championship this season, the league schedule was reduced by two matches from 18 to 16. This year, Memphis plays five conference foes twice (Houston, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, Wichita State) and the remaining schools once. Last season, the Tigers faced seven conference opponents twice and only four once.
Three Tigers are making homecomings this weekend. Freshman Mia Migliore, who hails from Covington, La., has her homecoming Friday when the Tigers play at Tulane. Covington is located 50 minutes north of New Orleans. On Sunday, Jada Birkel and Sabrina Bianco are making their homecoming appearances at Houston. Both are from Austin, Texas, which is just under three hours from Houston.
For the second year in a row, Memphis meets a team that played for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). On Friday, the Tigers travel to New Orleans, La., to face 2018 NIVC finalist Tulane, who lost the title match at Iowa State. In the 2018 regular season, Memphis played 2017 NIVC champion Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. The Tigers won that match 3-2 on Sept. 11, 2018.
Friday's match (Sept. 27) at Tulane is Memphis' latest conference opener since 2004 when the Tigers began league play Oct. 1.
Memphis has had recent success in both series with Tulane and Houston. The Tigers have won nine of the last 12 encounters with Tulane. The Green Wave, however, swept both matches in 2018. In the Houston series, Memphis has won six of the previous eight match-ups.
If some of the returning Tigers do a double-take when they look at the Houston bench, don't be alarmed. Memphis faces a familiar foe in Houston and also a familiar opposing head coach in David Rehr, who previously led the Arkansas State program from 2012-18. Rehr's Red Wolves teams had success against the Tigers, winning all four meetings over his seven seasons in Jonesboro, Ark.
Hitting percentage success may be hard to come by Friday when Memphis and Tulane meet. The two programs lead the American Athletic Conference in opponents' hitting percentage. The Green Wave top that statistical category at .148, with the Tigers second at .152.
Memphis and Tulane also are two of the league's top service teams. The Tigers lead the conference in service aces at 85, and Tulane is third with 77 aces.