Memphis Set to Host East Carolina and Cincinnati

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After opening a season-long five-match homestand with a split against USF and UCF, the Memphis Tigers (9-13, 2-8) will host East Carolina (8-11, 4-6) and Cincinnati (12-6, 7-3) this weekend at the Larry O. Finch Center. Friday's matchup with the Pirates is set for 6 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+, while the Tigers and Bearcats will do battle at 1 p.m. Sunday.

East Carolina comes to Memphis off of a five-set win at home vs. Houston. The Pirates' victory over the Cougars snapped a three-match losing streak after East Carolina opened AAC play 3-3. The Pirates sit near the bottom of the conference in nearly every team category, which includes a .181 hitting percentage, ninth in the league. East Carolina sits last in the conference in both assists and kills per set, eighth in blocks, and seventh in digs and service aces. Senior Sydney Kleinman ranks second in the conference in kills per set (4.41), one of three East Carolina players among the top 20 in the conference. Kleinman leads the league in aces per set (0.49) and is 13^th among AAC players in digs per set (2.89).

The all-time history between the Tigers and Pirates has been favorable to Memphis, as the Tigers hold a 23-10 lead in the series dating back to 1980. Recently, the series has been back-and-forth, as neither program has won more than three straight meetings since the Tigers won 12 straight from 2007-14. The two programs met earlier in October, a three-set win for East Carolina. The Pirates' last win in Memphis came in 2017.

Sunday afternoon, the Tigers will also look to avenge a loss from earlier this season, when Cincinnati took down Memphis in four sets. The Bearcats sit in a three-way tie for second place in the AAC standings, with their only losses to Wichita State, Houston, and UCF, which sit T-2^nd, T-2^nd, and 1^st in the conference standings. The Bearcats are only sixth and eighth in the league respectively in hitting percentage and opponents hitting percentage, but first in both assists and kills per set. While Cincinnati is last in the conference in blocks per set, the Bearcats are third in aces and second in digs per set. Junior Kailea Carrier and freshman Abby Walker are sixth and seventh respectively in the AAC in hitting percentage, while four different Bearcats are among the top 20 in the conference in kills per set.

The Bearcats hold a 32-23 edge in the all-time series dating to 1979 and have won eight straight matches vs. the Tigers, which includes three straight wins in Memphis. The Tigers' last victory in the series came Nov. 11, 2015, the last of a seven-match win streak for Memphis in the series. In their meeting earlier this season, the Tigers took the opening set before Cincinnati rallied for three straight to take the win. Three different Bearcats tallied at least 13 kills while three different Bearcats each recorded at least 10 digs.

NOTABLES

Memphis has held opponents to a .208 hitting percentage, the fifth best mark in the AAC
The Tigers are fourth in the AAC with 15.82 digs per set, paced by sophomore Bailey Houlihan, who is third in the AAC with 4.44 digs per set
Senior Sabrina Bianco sits fifth in the conference in assists per set (9.86), while senior Miaya Smith is among the top 16 in the AAC in both hitting percentage and kills per set

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Volleyball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Sabrina Bianco

Bailey Houlihan

Miaya Smith

University of Memphis Athletics