Tigers swept in finale against Tulane

Saturday, February 13

New Orleans, LA.

1:00 PM

University of Memphis

3-3,0-2AAC

Tulane

4-5,2-0AAC

Memphis

Tulane

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Feb 13, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

New Orleans, LA. – For the second consecutive day, the Memphis Tigers lost three consecutive sets to the Tulane Green Wave. Unlike Friday evening, where Memphis won the first set in route to a 3-1 loss, the Tigers didn't pick up a set on Saturday. Memphis lost 23-25, 24-26, & 25-16.

Behind All-Conference selection Lexie Douglas, Tulane (4-5, 2-0) jumped out to an early lead in the first set and never relented. Douglas had three kills in the first 12 points that gave the Green Wave a 7-5 edge. Memphis (3-3, 0-2) briefly led 12-10, but Tulane took six of the next nine points for a 16-15 lead. A service error by Mackenzie Martin tied the set 22-22, but Tulane won three of the next four points for a 25-23 first set victory. Memphis' Jada Birkel, who finished the match with a team-high 10 kills, recorded four in the first set. Birkel and Miaya Smith each tallied a pair of blocks in the set, but neither recorded another block for the remainder of the match.

The second set proved to be Memphis' best opportunity at grabbing a set on the road and getting back into the match. After a back-and-forth opening 20 points, the Tigers went on a run, highlighted by Gigi Crescenzo, who put Memphis ahead 15-12 with her sixth kill of the afternoon. Crescenzo finished second on the team in kills with nine and led the Tigers in digs with 17. A quick 3-0 burst from Tulane leveled the set 15-15 and then again at 23-23. A kill from Smith gave Memphis set point at 24-23, though the Green Wave won the next three points. A kill from Martin gave Tulane the set win 26-24.

Down 2-0, Memphis struggled with consistency in the final set. The Tigers fell behind 4-0 early and never recovered, as deficits of 11-5 and 16-12 followed. A 4-0 spurt from Tulane made it 20-12, while consecutive service aces from Amanda Giardina gave the Green Wave set point at 24-15. Two points later, Kayla Dinkins finished off the sweep for Tulane with her ninth kill of the match. Tulane finished the sweep with a 25-16 third set win.

After five consecutive losses entering the weekend for Tulane, the Green Wave opened conference play firing on all cylinders and led by the team's two All-AAC selections in Douglas and Dinkins. Douglas had 14 kills in Tulane's Friday night win and bested that with a match-high 15 kills on Saturday afternoon. Douglas added 11 digs for the double-double. Dinkins once again posted a good combination of offense and defense with nine kills and three blocks in the three-set win.

Tigers Tidbits

The Tigers fell to Tulane for the sixth time in the past eight matches
It was the fourth consecutive loss for Memphis in the series on the road
Jada Birkel (10) led the Tigers in kills for the first time this season
Gigi Crescenzo (17) led Memphis in digs for the first time this season, Bailey Houlihan had led the Tigers in digs in each of the first five matches
With 32 assists and 10 digs, Sabrina Bianco posted her second consecutive double-double and her fourth in six matches

Up Next
Memphis has a quick turnaround as the Tigers look to earn their first conference win of the season. After just four days off, the Tigers will host Tulsa at the Larry O. Finch Center on Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively. The Tigers will follow the matches against Tulsa with a bye weekend before they hit the road for two matches against Wichita State.