Tigers volleyball opens up AAC play at Tulane

Friday, February 12

New Orleans, LA.

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

Tulane

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Feb 10, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis volleyball opens up conference action this weekend with a pair of matches against Tulane, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. Both matches are available on ESPN+.

"I've been really proud of the team so far and thought that we put two really good matches back-to-back against Louisiana Tech to close non-conference play," said head coach Sean Burdette. "Having some fans in attendance really wet our appetite to get the Finch Center full whenever we're able to. Just having some people there cheering you on helps out a lot and gives it a different atmosphere."

Friday night will be the first matchup between the Tigers and Green Wave since Nov. 17, 2019, a 3-0 win for Memphis. The Tigers enter the weekend matchups off of a bye, which followed their four non-conference games. Tulane sits at just 2-5 on the season with five consecutive losses, including a pair of 3-1 loses this past weekend at UCF. The Green Wave are 0-3 at home and haven't won a match since Jan. 23.

"Tulane is a physical team that does a good job of attacking the entire length of the net and can score points from anywhere," said Burdette. "When you're walking into someone else's arena, you have to be ready. We've had some contested battles with them the past few seasons."

Friday's match will be the 50^th all-time between the two schools. The Tigers hold a 30-19 advantage but had dropped three consecutive meetings prior to the 3-0 win for the Tigers in late 2019. Current Tigers that appeared in that 3-0 victory include Kinkaid Padgett, Andrea O'Connor, Sabrina Bianco, and Anna Hayes.

"Going 3-1 is a good starting point for us, and breaking the season into two mini-seasons, the first part has been a success," said Burdette. "It's been exciting to prep for Tulane and use the bye week to work on some things that we want to improve upon heading into conference play. The conference is highly competitive and we want to make sure that we're ready to go for Tulane."

Tigers Tidbits

Prior to Memphis' win at home over Tulane in 2019, the Tigers hadn't beaten the Green Wave in Memphis since Oct. 23, 2016
Tulane has won four of the last six matchups, which followed a stretch of eight consecutive match wins for Memphis
Miaya Smith earned AAC Honor Roll appearances for her performance against Louisiana Tech, which included a masterful .789 hitting percentage with 16 kills in the second matchup between the two teams
The Tigers are 12^th in the country in assists per set (13.47), eighth in digs per set (19.40), 18^th in kills per set (14.33), and 26^th in opponents hitting percentage (.121)
Freshman Sam Drewry remains the team leader in kills (54), though Smith's dominant weekend vs. the Lady Techsters has her just 13 behind after four matches
Freshman Bailey Houlihan has led the Tigers in digs in all four matches
Junior Sabrina Bianco leads the AAC and remains among the top 10 in the country in assists per set (11.73)
Bailey Houlihan is second in the AAC with 5.20 digs per set
Memphis is currently in the top five in the AAC in assists per set (T-1^st), kills per set (1^st), and digs per set (1^st)