Memphis picks up second consecutive three-set win over Louisiana Tech

Saturday, January 30

Memphis, Tenn.

3:00 PM

University of Memphis

3-1,0-0AAC

Louisiana Tech

-07,00 CUSA

Louisiana Tech

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Memphis picks up second consecutive three-set win over Louisiana Tech

Jan 30, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – While the Memphis Tigers weren't as dominant as they were on Friday night, the end result was the same, a three-set victory over the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. The Tigers cruised through the first set, battled off two set-points in the second set, and dominated in the final set for a 25-13, 29-28, & 25-11 win.

"It's absolutely great to get a win whenever you can, and we did a really good job across the board tonight," said head coach Sean Burdette. "Louisiana Tech came out and made some adjustments that extended things, but at the end of the day, sweeping the weekend is great, especially after dropping the second match last weekend to SIU."

The opening set felt like a continuation of Friday night's victory, as the Tigers never trailed and improved to 3-1 overall on the season. Miaya Smith controlled the offense for Memphis with seven of her match-high 16 kills in the set. The Tigers led 5-3 early in the set and never took their foot off of the gas. A kill from Smith extended the Memphis lead to 16-10, and two 4-0 runs in a span of the next 13 points gave Memphis its fourth consecutive set victory of the weekend, 25-13.

The second set proved to be the most competitive set of the weekend, as the Lady Techsters started with a 5-0 run in search of their first win of the season, but instead fell to 0-7. Louisiana Tech held multiple six-point leads in the set, which included a 14-8 advantage. The Tigers won seven of the next eight points to level the set, which then went back and forth and set up set point for Memphis at 24-23. Louisiana Tech fended off two set points and created two set point opportunities of their own, but service errors at 26-25 and 27-26 kept the Tigers in the set. A kill from Gigi Crescenzo, one of five on the night for the sophomore, completed the Memphis comeback in the set, 29-27.

"We just talked about the comeback in the locker room and it was something special," said Burdette. "Not hitting the panic button and just chipping away, trying to break their serve and pick up a point wherever we could. It really showed some grit with this team. Everyone did their job and found a way to win points when we needed them."

Memphis completed the weekend sweep with a dominating third set, as the 25-11 margin was the largest of the weekend for the Tigers. Memphis took a 4-3 lead on a kill from Jada Birkel and never looked back. A 5-2 run extended the Memphis lead to 10-6, and the Tigers followed that with a 7-1 run. Memphis won eight of the final nine points of the match, as Addyson Huber and Calla Shotwell each picked up their first kill of the night, as Shotwell's kill wrapped up the victory for Memphis, 25-11.

"I'm pleased with our non-conference play, but now it's really like the start of a new season," said Burdette. "We've got to be ready. As we saw in both pairs of our non-conference matches, teams are going to scheme and do things differently. It's how quickly we're able to adjust when we're playing the same team two matches in a row on consecutive days."

Tigers Tidbits

Memphis finished non-conference play 3-1
The Tigers have now won five straight matches against the Lady Techsters at home
With four blocks, Elizabeth Orf set a new Memphis personal best, and also set the mark for the most for an individual Tigers player this season
After Memphis had a freshman lead the team in kills in each of the first three matches, junior Miaya Smith's 16 kills were the most for either side
Bailey Houlihan (11) led the Tigers in digs for the fourth consecutive match
Nine different Tigers recorded at least one kill; five players recorded at least five kills
Smith recorded a hitting percentage of .750, more than double the success rate of any other player in the match that had more than 20 attempts

Up Next
After four non-conference matches, all at home, the Tigers will have a bye week before they begin conference play. American action will get started on the road against Tulane Feb. 12-13. Memphis' next home matches follow less than a week later, as the Tigers will host Tulsa Feb 18-19.