Nov. 16, 2007

Box Score

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -

No. 4 Tulsa 3, No. 5 Memphis 0

No. 5 Memphis (23-12)     22  24  28
No. 4 Tulsa (25-8)        30  30  30

Tulsa outside hitter Fabiola Nepomuceno blasted a match-high 22 kills and Memphis was never able to contain a potent Golden Hurricane offense as it was bounced from competition via a sweep on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the 2007 Conference USA Championships. Memphis finishes the year with a 23-12 mark--representing the third time in four seasons that the program has compiled over 20 wins.

Seniors Ashley Liford and Shelby Burton round out their Tiger careers as the most successful class in Tiger volleyball history. The duo recorded 2955 kills and both will go down as top-10 performers at Memphis in kills--a feat no two seniors of the same class has ever accomplished. For her career, Liford finishes third all-time at Memphis with 1566 kills, and is just the second Tiger to ever record over 4,000 attempts. Burton finishes ranked in a tie for sixth on Memphis' all-time kills ledger with 1389. It is her efficiency that will be remembered as her .369 career attacking clip is tops on the UofM's list. She finishes her career with 397 block assists (second all-time) and 484 total rejections--third-most by a Tiger volleyball player. Liford and Burton wrapped up their careers with 93 victories--the most wins over a four-year period since Memphis won 101 matches from 1987-1990.

Nepomuceno hit .455 with 22 kills on 44 attempts with only two errors on the evening. Senior Julia Silva, C-USA Setter of the Year, dished out 39 assists and had 10 digs for her league-best 29th double-double of the year. Silva remains the only C-USA player with 20-or-more double-doubles. Junior libero Malorey Grove tied a match-high with 15 digs, while freshman Nicola Boyle chipped in 11.

"We played a very good Memphis team tonight," said Ed Allen, Tulsa head coach. "I was extremely pleased with our ball control. We were putting the ball where we wanted it consistently. Our offense and defense kept (Memphis) out of their system.

"We have a huge task (tomorrow versus No. 1 Marshall). They are extremely talented and have a lot of balance. Playing them on their home court will be a challenge but it will be fun as well."

Memphis was led by Liford, who had 10 kills and nine digs. Junior Sarah Bury and freshman Christine Bach notched 15 digs each.

Tulsa had the best offensive attack of the tournament hitting .325, compared to .168 by the Tigers. TU also had more digs, 61-49.