Oct. 2, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After spending the three weeks on the road, the University of Memphis volleyball team will return home this weekend for a pair of C-USA matches versus Tulane and UTEP. The Tigers will host the Green Wave on Fri., Oct. 3 at 7 p.m., before rounding out weekend action against the Miners on Sun., Oct. 5 at 1 p.m.

Friday's match with Tulane marks Memphis' first home C-USA match of the year. It also is the Tigers' first time playing at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse since Sept. 6 (27 days), when Memphis fought to a five-set loss versus Troy.

At 11-5 overall and 2-1 in C-USA play, Memphis split a tough weekend of travel at Marshall and East Carolina last week. The Tigers struggled in a loss to Marshall, but rebounded with a strong win over ECU on Sunday. Senior setter Laura Côté leads the team with 625 assists. Combined with the 4,760 assists she brought into the season, Côté has dished out 5,385 career assists-good for second on Memphis' all-time ledger. She needs just 269 to overtake Clare Dirksen (5,356) and become the program's all-time leader in assists. Côté is flanked Rebekah Strickland, Katlin Inglish and Lauren Thompson. Strickland leads the way for the Tigers with a .324 attack percentage, while Inglish and Thompson are one and two on the team with 159 and 158 kills, respectively.

For the third-straight week, Memphis middle blocker Emily Underwood continues her grip on the nation's top spot on the blocking charts, averaging 1.79 blocks per set. Memphis ranks 11 in the country with 2.79 blocks per set. Libero Christine Bach ranks third in C-USA and in the top 50 nationally with 4.52 digs per set on the U of M back row.

Scouting Tulane
The C-USA Preseason favorite, Tulane is 10-4 on the year and 2-0 in C-USA play. The Green Wave ousted Houston, 3-0, and Rice, 3-1 in its opening weekend of C-USA action. Led by 2007 C-USA co-Coach of the Year Liz Kritza, Tulane got off to a 2-4 start, with losses to No. 20 BYU, No. 14 Cal Poly and No. 2 Nebraska. After suffering its fourth loss of the season -against the second-ranked Cornhuskers-the Wave have won eight straight, including a 3-2 win over No. 14 Middle Tennessee. Tulane played four top 20 teams in its first 12 contests. The Green Wave returns 13 letterwinners and its entire starting lineup from the 2007 team that went 28-6 over all and 14-2 in C-USA play. Among those returning players are 2007 All-C-USA performers Sara Radosevic and Ksenija Vlaskovic (First Team), along with Jen Linder and Jenn Miller (Second Team). Miller was tabbed the 2007 Libero of the Year.

Tulane ranks second in C-USA in kills and assists. Radosevic leads the Green Wave offensively, with 180 kills and is third in the league with 3.53 terminations per set. Bridget Wells is a solid No. 2 option for Tulane, swinging away for 168 kills and 3.29 per set.

Defensively, two-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Week, Miller has a team-high 3.79 digs per set. Middle blocker Jen Linder leads the blocking efforts with 48 total blocks.

All-Time Series vs. the Green Wave
Memphis holds a 19-15 advantage in the all-time series. Tulane won the last match, 3-1 in Memphis in 2007. However, prior to last year's contest, Memphis had won five-straight contests against the Green Wave dating back to the 2003 season. The Tigers have won five of the last seven meetings in Memphis.

Scouting UTEP
UTEP enters the weekend with a 5-10 record overall and 1-1 mark in C-USA action. The Miners return five starters from 2007 and are just four wins shy of matching the 2007 win total.

UTEP has put down the fewest kills in Conference USA, but has a potent 1-2 punch of Catherine Chavez and Amy Sanders that both rank in the top 10 in the league in kills. Chavez's team-best 197 kills and 3.65 kills per set is tops in the conference, while Sanders ranks eighth with 3.27 kills per game. Sanders are tough at the service line, leading the squad, ranking second in the league and 26th nationally with .50 aces per set. Sanders is joined by four other Miners as they lead Conference USA and rank eighth in the country with 2.04 service aces per period. Daidre Mendenhall, Jennifer Nolasco, Marie-Therese Joyce and Patty Jarmoc all are among the league's top 10 servers.

The Miners are a solid blocking team, checking in with the third rated block in C-USA AT 2.26 blocks per set. Mendenhall leads the lineup with 1.09 blocks per game.

All-Time Series vs. the Miners
Memphis is 4-1 all-time against UTEP. The Tigers have made the trip to El Paso each of the last two seasons and have come away both times with sweeps. The lone loss suffered to the Miners came the last time UTEP made the trip to Memphis, in the 2005 season. UTEP cruised to a sweep of the U of M in the Miners first meeting against Memphis after joining C-USA. The Tigers won the first meeting via the sweep back in 1986.