Memphis earns sweep at Wichita State

Friday, March 5

Wichita, KS.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

5-5,2-4AAC

Wichita State

8-3,3-3AAC

Memphis

Wichita St.

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Mar 05, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

WICHITA, Kan. – After a five-set thriller on Thursday, the Memphis Tigers won in slightly less dramatic fashion on Friday, with a four-set win over Wichita State. Memphis handed the Shockers their third consecutive conference loss with a 25-21, 25-23, 24-26, & 26-24 victory. After the Tigers dropped the first two sets on Thursday, they won six of the next seven for the weekend sweep.

Wichita State showed early energy a day after they lost their second consecutive five-set loss. The Shockers jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, but offensive struggles from Thursday bled into the opening set. Wichita State had just three kills through the first 17 points, as the Tigers led 9-8. Memphis continued the pressure into the media timeout up 15-10, while Jada Birkel's third kill of the night gave Memphis a 19-13 lead. Back-to-back service aces for Sabrina Bianco gave Memphis set point at 24-16, and while the Shockers fought off five set points, Birkel's fourth kill of the set gave Memphis the 25-21 win and early 1-0 advantage.

The second set felt very familiar to the two teams, as it played out similarly to four of the five sets from Thursday. Neither team was able to put any sort of run together, though early kills from Miaya Smith and Gigi Crescenzo kept Memphis down one 6-5 before the Tigers began to pull ahead with a 4-0 run. The Shockers were able to tie the set 11-11, 16-16, and 17-17, but never led after they were up 6-5. Birkel's seventh kill of the match gave Memphis a 19-17 edge, while two straight points for the Shockers led to a Memphis timeout with a 23-22 lead. Crescenzo's ninth kill of the match gave Memphis set point, while Sam Drewry closed out the set with a kill for a 25-23 Memphis win and 2-0 lead.

Memphis started the third set with poise and it appeared as though the Tigers were going to make it six consecutive victorious sets against Wichita State. Two straight kills from Drewry put Memphis ahead 9-5, while a 4-0 run for the Shockers pulled them within one at 17-16. Wichita State picked up its first lead since 6-5 in the second set as part of a 6-0 run that gave the Shockers an 18-17 lead, but Smith and Crescenzo responded with consecutive kills that put Memphis back in front by one. A kill from Drewry, one of her match-high 18, gave Memphis match point at 24-23, but the Shockers rattled off three straight points, as a kill from Marriah Buss earned Wichita State the set 26-24 and extended the match. The Tigers led 17-12 in the set, but the Shockers closed on an extended 14-7 run.

The Tigers controlled the fourth set from the get-go, with a 7-3 lead on a kill from Crescenzo and a 10-4 lead on Smith's 10^th kill of the match. Memphis pushed the lead to eight, the Tigers' largest of the set, at 15-7, while Crescenzo set a new career-high with her 16^th kill of the match that made it 19-13. Wichita State responded with a 6-1 run that got the Shockers back into the match, but a kill from Drewry stopped the momentum and kept the Tigers ahead 22-18. Five of the next seven points went to the Shockers, who tied the set 24-24, part of a 12-5 run. A service error from Wichita State set up another Memphis match point, while Smith picked up her team-high fifth block to cap off the 26-24 and 3-0 win for Memphis.

Tigers Tidbits

It was the third consecutive win for the Tigers on the road against Wichita State
Memphis recorded three or more double-doubles for the second straight match
Sabrina Bianco (55 assists, 16 digs) recorded her seventh double-double of the season and her fifth in the last six matches
Sam Drewry tallied her second straight double-double with 18 kills and 10 digs
As part of her career night, Gigi Crescenzo picked up her second straight double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs
Memphis hit .161 as a team, just the second time they've eclipsed a .150 hitting percentage in conference play

Up Next
Fresh off of the two-match sweep at Wichita State, the Tigers will remain on the road against tough division competition. Memphis' next two matches are against Houston, who currently lead the AAC West. Memphis will play the Cougars next Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively before a bye week. The Tigers then cap off the regular season at home with a pair of matches against SMU March 26-27.