Sept. 7, 2004

OGDEN, Utah-- - The University of Memphis volleyball team made the trip to Utah for a four-game road swing that includes 2003 NCAA Tournament paticipants BYU and UCF. Memphis will open the trip in Ogden on Wed., Sept. 8, with a single match against Weber State. They will then compete in the five-team BYU Mizuno Classic on Sept. 10-11. "We are excited to be invited to play in this tournament hosted by BYU.," said Memphis head coach Carrie Yerty. Not only is BYU ranked in the Top 30, but UCF went to the NCAA Tournament last year and Oklahoma has a strong team. It will be nice to compete against some of the toip teams in the country." Memphis enters the road trip after opening the season 4-0 on four straight shutouts for just the second time in program history. The Tigers claimed their second consecutive Memphis Invitational title over the weekend. Senior setter Heather Watts received Conference USA's first-ever Setter of the Week Award after garnering the Invitational's MVP honors, while sophomore Melissa Nance was also named to the All-tournament team. Weber State, who was picked to finishe sixth in the Big Sky Conference, enters Wednesday's match 0-3 after dropping a trio of matches in the Boise State Bronco Invitational. Oklahoma, the U of M's first BYU Mizuno Classic opponent, is 4-0 after taking the Holiday Inn/University of Texas-Pan American Invitational title. Memphis will face BYU on Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. BYU, who was tabbed to finish second in the Mountain West preseason polls, is 2-1. The Cougars lone loss came in a 3-1 setback to No. 8 Penn State. BYU head coach Karen Lamb coached Yerty in her record-setting freshman season at Washington State. The Tigers will round out the trip will matches against UCF (0-2) and Utah Valley State (0-1) on Sept. 11 at Noon and 5:30 p.m., respectively. UCF lost a pair of contest in the Hurrican Frances Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., while UVSC dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 24 Utah. The trip to Utah will be a homecoming for natives Watts and Jennie Toronto. Watts hails from Sandy, Utah, while Toronto is a native of Salt Lake City. "I know it's exciting for the girls because Heather and Jennie are from Utah, so we feel like we will have a good fan base. It will be a good opportunity to compete at a high level as well as enjoying a new experience for our kids."