Tigers Move to 5-0 with Victories over Missouri State and Little Rock

Friday, September 3

CONWAY, ARK.

11:00 A.M.

University of Memphis

4-0,0-0AAC

Missouri State

2-2,0-0MVC

Missouri St.

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Tigers Move to 5-0 with Victories over Missouri State and Little Rock

Sep 03, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CONWAY, Ark. – Behind two straight set victories at the Central Arkansas Invitational, the Memphis Tigers improved to 5-0. The Tigers have won all five matches that they've played in straight sets and have faced set point just once so far this season.

In the first match of the day against Missouri State (2-2), the Tigers dominated through much of the match. Memphis hit a match-high .545 in the opening set and held the Bears to a .024 hitting percentage in the second set. In the third set, Missouri State stayed close throughout, but the Tigers forced six Bears errors to close out the match. Against Little Rock (3-2), neither side hit above .085 in the opening set, as the team's combined for 19 errors. The Tigers limited the attack to just two errors in the second set to take control of the match, while Little Rock had more errors than kills in the final set of the day.

Memphis 3, Missouri State 0
25-17, 25-21, 25-23

Set 1

Despite Missouri State hitting a match-high .333, the Tigers had 15 kills and just three errors to cruise to the opening set win
A pair of kills by Tabytha Toelke highlighted an opening 5-1 run for the Tigers
Autumn Hamilton and Gigi Crescenzo bookended a Memphis 4-0 run that pushed the lead to 10-3
Toelke's third kill of the set pushed the Memphis lead to a set-high eight points at 14-6
Missouri State cut the lead to four with a 4-0 run at 17-13 Tigers
A pair of service aces along with kills from Miaya Smith and Crescenzo were part of a 5-1 Memphis run that made it 23-15 Tigers
Elizabeth Orf's second kill of the set gave Memphis set point, while two plays later, another kill by Orf gave the Tigers the 25-17 set win

Set 2

Missouri State jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, but the Tigers won seven of the next eight points to lead 9-4
After the Bears pulled back within two at 12-10 Memphis, the Tigers used a kill from Hamilton, two Missouri State errors, and two kills by Crescenzo to go on a 5-0 run that made it 17-10
Missouri State responded with a 6-0 run to get back within a point at 17-16 Memphis
A service ace by Crescenzo ended a 6-2 Memphis run to lead 23-18
A kill by Smith gave Memphis set point, while Orf once again provided the set-winning kill, 25-21
The Bears kept it close despite a .024 hitting percentage, as they had just eight kills to seven errors in the set, while the Tigers had 16 kills and six errors

Set 3

Neither team led by more than two points until the Tigers went on a 3-0 run to take an 11-7 lead
Missouri State answered with its own 3-0 run that trimmed the Memphis lead to one
The Bears tied the set at 13-13 and 15-15, but Memphis took control with a 6-1 run that made it 21-16
Down 22-17, Missouri State won six consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead
The Tigers responded with three consecutive points to win the set 25-23, as a kill by Crescenzo gave Memphis the match win

Memphis 3, Little Rock 0
27-25, 25-12, 25-17

Set 1

Memphis opened the match on a 6-0 run and Little Rock trailed by as many as seven at 17-10
The Trojans pulled back into the set with a 6-0 run that cut the Memphis lead to 17-16
The teams alternated the next four points before Little Rock tied the set 19-19
The Tigers got two kills from M. Smith, one from Toelke, and an ace from Sarah Smith as part of a 4-1 run to lead 23-20
Consecutive Little Rock kills from Laura Jansen pulled the Trojans within one at 23-22, while consecutive Memphis attack errors later tied the set 24-24
Tied 25-25, Hamilton gave the Tigers set point, while a Trojans error gave Memphis the set win 27-25

Set 2

The teams went back and forth early on until Memphis turned a 9-7 lead into a 14-7 lead with a 5-0 run
Ahead 16-11, consecutive kills by M. Smith sparked a Memphis 5-0 run that made it 21-11 Tigers
Memphis won the final four points of the set to win 25-12
The Tigers finished the set on a 9-1 run
Memphis had just two errors and hit .400 in the set after nine errors and a .085 hitting percentage in the opening set

Set 3

Little Rock got out to its largest lead of the match with an opening 7-3 run, though Memphis answered with six straight points to lead 9-7
A kill from Crescenzo pushed the Memphis lead to 15-10 and the Trojans never got closer than three points after that
Kills from Hamilton and Crescenzo bookended a Memphis 5-1 run that made it 22-16 Tigers
Memphis won the final three points of the match on a Little Rock service error, Tigers service ace, and M. Smith's ninth kill of the match for a 25-17 victory

Tigers Tidbits

The Tigers have not lost a set yet this season (15 consecutive set victories)
Memphis won all six sets played despite zero double-doubles
Autumn Hamilton and Miaya Smith tied for the team lead with 18 kills between both matches
Smith had the best hitting percentage for the Tigers in both victories
Memphis had four players with at least eight kills in each match

Up Next

The Tigers wrap up the UCA Invitational Saturday against host Central Arkansas at 3 p.m.
Memphis will then head to the SEMO Invitational with one match Friday and two matches Saturday
After the SEMO Invitational, Memphis will play at home for the first time this season as the Tigers host the Tiger Brawl Sep. 17-18

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.