Aug. 23, 2012

Memphis Invitational

Memphis | Austin Peay | Eastern Michigan | Southern Illinois | UALR

August 24-25 | Memphis, Tenn. | Elma Roane Fieldhouse

Live Video | Gametracker | Game Notes

Tournament Central

Memphis Game Notes

The University of Memphis volleyball team starts their 2012 season with four matches at their home tournament on Friday and Saturday. Other teams participating in the tournament are Austin Peay, Eastern Michigan, Southern Illinois and UALR. Matches start at 10:00 a.m. on Friday at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Memphis' campus.

WEEKEND MATCHUPS
Memphis vs. Austin Peay (11-20 in 2011) - Friday, August 24, 12:00 p.m.
All-Time Series: Memphis leads 19-1
Last meeting: Memphis won 3-0, Sep. 7, 2007
Austin Peay returns three of their top four hitters from a team that finished 11-20 last year. Nikki Doyle led the Lady Governors with 408 kills (3.43 per set) while hitting .230. Cami Fields led the team with 1,242 assists in her rookie campaign last year.

Memphis vs. Southern Illinois (9-18 in 2011) - Friday, August 24, 7:00 p.m.
All-Time Series: Southern Illinois leads 12-7
Last Meeting: Memphis won 3-0, Sep. 10, 2011
Coming off a 9-18 season, the Salukis return their top six hitters from 2011. Laura Thole leads this group as she pounded out a team-high 346 kills a season ago. Jessica Whitehead wasn't far behind with 338 kills while Bailey Yeager posted a team-high 421 digs last year.

Memphis vs. UALR (11-20 in 2011) - Saturday, August 25, 12:00 p.m.
All-Time Series: Memphis leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Memphis won 3-1, Aug. 27, 2011
During her freshman season, Edina Begic led UALR with 432 kills (3.93 per set). Emily Pepperman led the Trojans in digs with 377 while Begic was not far behind, digging 287 balls. The Trojans finished the 2011 campaign with an 11-20 record.

Memphis vs. Eastern Michigan (21-11 in 2011) - Saturday, August 25, 5:00 p.m.
All-Time Series: Eastern Michigan leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Eastern Michigan won 2-0, 1982
Rachel Ianquaniello's 468 kills (3.97 per set) leads a group of five returning Eagles that recorded at least 100 kills a season ago. However, the Eagles have to replace their libero that had 645 digs in 2011 and a setter that handed out 1,243 helpers from a team that went 21-11 last season.

STORYLINES

• The Tigers return 80.3 percent of their kills from an offense that posted the second-most kills in Conference USA last year.
• Senior outside hitter Altrese Hawkins (Schaumburg, Ill.) posted 532 kills a season ago, to rank her fourth in school history for kills in a season. She currently ranks 8th all-time with 1,350 career kills.
• Memphis was deadly from the service line in 2011 as they led C-USA with an average of 1.55 aces per set and 187 total aces.
• The Tigers were selected to finish seventh in the C-USA Coaches' Preseason Poll. Tulsa was selected to win the league with 11 votes.
• Hawkins, a Preseason All-C-USA selection, finished the 2011 campaign with an average of 4.40 kills per set, which ranked her 19th in the country.
• Fellow senior Marija Jovanovich (Belgrade, Serbia) ranked second on the team behind Hawkins with 381 kills (3.23 per set).
• Sophomore Aleksandra Petronijevic (Belgrade, Serbia) should anchor the defense after recording 430 digs in 2011.
• There will be free admission to all games at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse this season. If you can't make it to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, you can watch live broadcasts of Memphis Volleyball matche on the Memphis Tiger Network. Monthly Subscriptions start at $9.95.

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