Memphis Falls in Five Set Thriller to Wichita State

Sunday, October 29

Memphis, Tenn.

1:00 p.m.

University of Memphis

8-17,4-9AAC

Wichita State

16-6,10-2AAC

Wichita St.

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Memphis Falls in Five Set Thriller to Wichita State

Oct 29, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller to Wichita State Sunday afternoon. The Tigers (8-17, 4-9 AAC) put up a fight against the Shockers, taking sets two (25-22) and four (25-19) of the match.

Memphis played well recording 62 kills on a .206 clip, 72 digs,12 service aces and six blocks in the match.

Wichita State 3, Memphis 2
Set One

Memphis and Wichita State opened the match going back and forth with the Shockers holding a slight lead over the Tigers. Kills from Reilly Briggs and Autumn Flynn allowed Memphis to keep it close.
The Shockers went on a 10-2 run to close out set one at 25-14. Wichita State found success at the net with blocks and kills from Emerson Wilford and Natalie Foster.

Set Two

The Tigers came out strong in set two, taking an early lead. Memphis capitalized off errors from Wichita State and big performances, defensively, from Abigail Schlueter and Tabytha Toelke.
A block from Briggs and Flynn along with a momentum grabbing kills from Madison Rice-Locket forced an early Shocker timeout.
Wichita State found some momentum in the second half of the set, bringing the score back within two points. But, the Tigers would hold on and take the set 25-22, on another Rice-Locket kill.

Set Three

Memphis and Wichita State opened the third set going back and forth. The Shockers took the one-point lead into the media timeout after putting together a 4-1 run.
The Tigers and Shockers continued with the back and forth, neither side able to put together a run. Memphis found success behind the service line, recording five aces in the second half of the set.
The Shockers took the set 27-25, ending on a 4-1 run with kills from Wilford.

Set Four

Memphis and Wichita State opened going point-for-point, keeping it close early on. The Tigers began pulling away midway through the set with back-to-back kills from Briggs forcing a Shocker timeout.
Wichita State began climbing back in, going on a 4-0 run in the second half of the set pushing Memphis to use a timeout.
The Tigers held onto their lead, taking the set 25-19, forcing a set five. Memphis was aided by big performances at the net from Briggs, Rice-Locket and Clara Bednarek.

Set Five

The Shockers got off to a quick start, going on a 4-0 run early forcing a Tigers timeout. Memphis built some momentum out of the timeout with a block from Briggs and Flynn along with kills from Flynn.
Wichita State ended the set on a 7-1 run capitalizing off Memphis errors to close out the match.

Notables

Two Tigers recorded double-doubles: Toelke with 11 kills and 11 digs and Jordan Heatherly with 30 assists and 15 digs.
Memphis had three players tally double digit kills: Briggs (14), Rice-Locket (12) and Toelke (11).
Schlueter, Heatherly and Toelke all came away with double digit digs in the match. Schlueter led with 20.

Up Next: The Tigers head on the road to Florida Atlantic Friday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 4.

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.