Sept. 15, 2007
Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -
UL-Lafayette (1-14) 22 24 15
Memphis (10-4) 30 30 30
Memphis 3, UL-Lafayette 0
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Arkansas State (4-8) 18 20 27
Memphis (11-4) 30 30 30
Memphis 3, Arkansas State 0
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The University of Memphis volleyball squad put together a pair of impressive performances to cruise to its third and fourth consecutive sweeps and earn the Tiger Invitational Co-Championship Saturday at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Memphis, who went 3-0 in the tournament, downed UL-Lafayette in the afternoon match and Arkansas State in the finale to claim a share of the title with fellow C-USA member UAB. The Blazers also went 3-0. Both teams won all three contests via the sweep. Shelby Burton was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Ashley Liford and Sarah Bury earned all-tournament honors.
Burton, who set a Tiger volleyball record for kills and efficiency with 18 kills and a .810 attack percentage on Friday, slammed 11 kills in each match. She hit .316 versus ULL and capped a solid weekend with a .556 clip against Arkansas State. The Tiger senior added a combined 10 kills (6 vs. ULL, 4 vs. ASU) on the day.
While Burton wasn't putting down balls, her teammates Liford and Bury were. Liford led the Tigers with 14 kills in the win over A-State. She added 11 digs to clinch her eighth double-double of the year. Bury put away 13 balls and made six digs in both matches. Defensively, she made a career-best seven blocks against the Indians.
Memphis' defensive was strong in both outings as the Tiger held Louisiana-Lafayette to a .082 average and followed by limiting A-State to just .110 hitting. Libero Christine Bach led all players with 12 digs in the win over the Cajuns. She then tallied 14 digs to lead the Tiger defense against ASU.
Laura Côté ran the UofM offense with efficiency as the team posted attack percentages of .377 in the early match and .337 in the nightcap. Côté finished the day with 83 assists. Memphis hit over .300 in five of its six games on the day, including ripping a .438 average in the final game against ULL.
Memphis will now return to C-USA action with its first league road contest as they travel to El Paso for a matchup with the UTEP Miners on Fri., Sept. 21. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Tiger Invitational All-Tournament Team
MOP: Shelby Burton, Memphis
Ashley Liford, Memphis
Sarah Bury, Memphis
Ivana Bozic, UAB
Casey Dent, UAB
Robin Aaron, Arkansas State
Karla Readshaw, Stetson
Amie Goodwin, UL-Lafayette
