Sept. 3, 2011

Box Score

Memphis vs. Columbia PDF Box

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The University of Memphis volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 3-1 (28-30;25-19;17-25;22-25) to Columbia on day two of the USF Asics/Powerade Challenge.

Memphis fell behind early in the first set, trailing 12-8 before battling back to take the lead 19-18 on a kill from Altrese Hawkins. Columbia rallied, however, to take a 24-23 lead, but Memphis was able to stave off the set point and force the set to continue. The Lions proved too much however, rallying to win two consecutive points and taking the set 30-28.

The Tigers rebounded in the second set behind the strong play of Hawkins, who finished with a season-high 27 kills. Despite hitting .500 in the second set, Columbia couldn't handle the Tiger attack as Memphis closed the set out 25-19.

The Lions came out firing in the third set, going up 10-5 early and extending the lead to 14-7. Memphis battled back to within five when a service ace from Aleksandra Petronijevic narrowed the deficit to 19-15. Columbia would then call a timeout and regroup, however and finish out the set with a 25-17 win.

Columbia started the fourth set hitting a perfect 1.000 for the first 14 points and opened up a 10-4 lead. The Lions then pushed the lead to 17-11 before three-straight kills from A. Hawkins narrowed the gap to 17-14. The Lions then went on a 6-3 run to extend the lead to 23-17, but Memphis refused to go away easily. The Tigers scored four consecutive points before a service error from Vesna Jelic gave the Lions a 24-20 advantage.

Hawkins downed two more kills to bring her total to 27 and narrow the gap to 24-22 before Columbia used a final slide attack to seal the set, 25-22 and the match, 3-1.

Memphis plays its final game of the USF Asics/Powerade Challenge tonight at 9:30 p.m. (CT) when it takes on the San Francisco Dons.