Sept. 16, 2005

Box Score

MORGANTOWN, W.V. -

Duquesne (7-3)     26  22  31  36  15
Memphis (8-4)      30  30  29  34  13

After taking a 2-0 lead, Memphis failed to close the match out and fell 3-2 in the opener of the West Virginia Volleyball Tournament Friday evening at the WVU Coliseum. Nancy Nellans led all performers with 26 kills and 25 digs, while Christen Clayton finished with 21 digs. With the 26 kills, Nellans moves into fifth-place on Memphis' all-time kills list.

Duquesne opened the fifth game with three straight points and maintained an 8-4 lead when the squads changed sides. For the third consecutive game, Memphis had to battle from behind, and took an 11-10 lead after a Nellans kill. However, the Dukes scored four of the next five points to take control before winning 15-13.

The tilt was extended to five games when Memphis came out sluggishly and trailed 13-7 early in the fourth. The Tigers managed to cut the deficit to two at 17-15, but the Dukes extended its lead to 21-16 after an attack error by Nance. Kristen Hardee posted a pair of service aces to power a 6-0 Tiger surge that gave Memphis a 25-24 lead. From then on the two teams traded points until Duquesne claimed the 36-34 victory. Memphis hit just .125 for the game and made four service errors.

Both teams battled for control of the opening game with Duquesne making a 5-0 push to take an 8-6 lead, but Memphis responded with four unanswered points to go up 10-8. An attack error by the Dukes capped a 10-3 run by the U of M that gave the Tigers a five-point cushion at 21-16. DU fought back to close the gap to 23-20, but a pair of kills by Nancy Nellans gave Memphis its largest lead of the contest at 27-21. Ashley Liford led the Tigers with five kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the opening frame. The U of M defense held Duquesne to a .105 clip.

Game two saw the Dukes claim an early 5-2 lead. They stretched the cushion to 15-11 midway through. Four kills by Liford fueled a 7-2 rally they helped Memphis regain the lead at 18-17. DU evened the slate at 18, but the Tigers responded with a dominant 9-0 run to take a commanding 27-18 lead. In the run, the Tigers go four kills from Nellans, two from senior Fehi Tuivai and service aces from Clayton and Laura Côtè. Memphis dominated Duquesne 21-8 in the kills category in the second game and limited them to just .086 hitting.

DU opened the third game with an 11-3 advantage that was highlighted by a 6-0 rally. Memphis climbed back into the contest with a 6-2 push powered by Tuivai, who recorded a solo block followed by an unassisted kill to pull the Tigers within two points at 21-19. Memphis took its first lead of the game, 24-23, after Liford capped a four-point run with her third kill of the game. The Tigers increased the lead to 28-24 with another 4-0 push. Down to match-point, the Dukes retaliated with a critical 5-0 push to extend the match to its fourth game with a 31-29 win. Nellans nailed seven kills in the game and hit .308.

Liford logged 14 kills and Colette Ramirez added 10. Memphis hit a lowly .144 and committed 45 hitting errors to go with 12 service miscues. Ramirez was the lone Tiger to hit at least .250. Côtè handed out 63 assists and posted 12 digs.

Diana Wuebker led the Dukes with 18 kills and 18 digs. Dana McLaughlin added a double-double of 12 kills and 18 digs. Amanda Haeg downed 15 kills for Duquesne, who hit .114 for the match.

The Tigers will matchup with Buffalo Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m., followed by the nightcap, which will pit Memphis against the home team West Virginia Mountaineers at 8:00 p.m.