Oct. 7, 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -

SMU Match Notes

Riding the momentum of consecutive Conference USA wins, the University of Memphis volleyball team (11-5; 2-2 C-USA) will make the trip to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU in a pair matches, October 9-10. The Tigers and Mustangs will square off on Saturday at Noon, before wrapping up the weekend with a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday.

Tigers Tales
• Memphis improved to 11-5 on the year and 2-2 in C-USA play after defeating Marshall and East Carolina in a pair of 3-1 decisions.
• Sophomore outside hitter Altrese Hawkins was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this year, on Mon., Oct. 4. Hawkins, who leads Memphis and ranks fifth in C-USA and 50th in the nation, with a 3.88 kills per set average, is the first Tiger to earn multiple weekly honors in a single season since Shelby Burton in 2006. The Schaumburg, Ill., native also leads the Tigers and rates 10th in the league with a .312 attack percentage and seventh with 4.08 points per set. Hawkins hammered down 21 kills and hit .529 to lead Memphis to a four-set win over East Carolina on Sunday.
• Senior libero Christine Bach continues to climb the program's career digs chart. The Dresden, Germany moved into second all-time at Memphis in digs. Bach picked up 39 digs in weekend play, including a season-best 25 digs in the win over Marshall. Bach now has 1,520 career digs.
• Sophomores Marija Jovanovic and Altrese Hawkins led the Tigers offensive charge with a combination of 44 kills, while fellow sophomore Hajnalka Molnar posted her third double-double with a match and career-best 56 assists and 13 digs as the Tigers cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Thundering Herd of Marshall in Conference USA play at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse Friday evening.
• Sophomore Marija Jovanovic and Vesna Jelic rank No. 1 and No. 2 in Conference USA with 27 (0.45 sa/s) and 25 (0.43 sa/s) service aces, respectively. Jovanovic ranks 31st nationally, while Memphis leads C-USA and ranks ninth in the country, with 1.95 aces per set. Hajnalka Molnar and Maja Kostic also rank among the league's top-10 in aces.

Last Time Out
Memphis 3, East Carolina 1

Memphis (11-5, 2-2 C-USA)           25  21  25  25
East Carolina (1-15, 0-4 C-USA)     18  25  22  13

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Altrese Hawkins hit .529 with 21 kills and Memphis withstood determined effort by East Carolina to come away with a 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon at ECU's Minges Coliseum. The Tigers, who hit a robust .336 for the match, improve to 11-5 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA play with their second-straight league victory. ECU falls to 1-15 on the year and 0-4 in C-USA action.

Memphis put together its second team effort in as many contest. The Tigers recorded a 59-36 advantage in kills, a 55-32 cushion in assists and 43-30 lead in digs. Marija Jovanovic and Vesna Jelic complimented Altrese Hawkins' performance with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. In all, the Tiger's offense got a combined 50 kills from the Tiger trio. Jovanovic added three service aces. Setter Hajnalka Molnar set a match-best 47 assists, while libero Christine Bach picked up a match-high 14 digs in the Memphis back row.

Scouting SMU
SMU entered the weekend 12-4 overall and a 4-1 record in C-USA play. The Mustangs had their five-match win streak snapped with its first league loss--a 3-2 setback versus Tulsa--on Wednesday.

Dating back to its 3-1 win over TCU on Sept. 21, SMU has won five of its last six matches, including four of its last five C-USA tilts. The Mustangs swept UAB twice in the opening weekend of league play and outlasted both Tulane and Southern Miss in five, last weekend. SMU opened the season 5-0, before dropping a four-set decision to UC-Davis. Their three losses have come to UC-Davis, New Mexico and Wichita State.

SMU relies on its strong defense for its success. The Mustangs lead C-USA, holding opponents to a league-low .179 attack percentage, while leading the league with 155 total blocks and ranking second in the league and 33rd nationally with 2.46 rejections per set. Six Mustangs have recorded 20 or more blocks. Courtney Manning's 81 blocks (1.29 blk/s) leads the way with Caitlin Adair and Jessica Oliver following close behind with 60 (1.03 blk/s) and 52 (0.90 blk/s), respectively. Manning leads the league with 13 solos. The Mustangs also lead the conference and rates 12th in the country with 17.67 digs per set (1,113 total). Libero Sidney Stewart leads the back row and ranks fifth in C-USA with 298 digs (4.73 d/s). Kathryn Wilkerson and Dana Powell average over 3.00 digs per set.

SMU is led by the offensive prowess of Powell. Powell, a 2009 Second Team All-C-USA honoree, was named to the 2010 Preseason All-C-USA squad and she has lived up to that billing. She leads the team with 218 kills and ranks eighth in the league with 3.46 kills per set. Powell also ranks in the league's top-10 with 3.88 points per set. Wilkerson is second on the club with 188 kills, while Oliver and Manning average 2.98 kills and 2.48 kills per set each.

The Mustangs offense is run by setter Kelli Becerra. Becerra, who earned C-USA Setter of the Week honors in the opening weekend of the season, averages 10.71 assists per set-good for third in Conference USA and 32nd nationally. Becerra also leads SMU with 12 service aces.

All-Time Series vs. the Mustangs
Memphis holds a slight 3-2 advantage in the all-time series with SMU. The Tigers dismantled the Mustangs 3-1 in Memphis in 2008, but were swept in Dallas last year. Christine Bach set a program record with 35 digs as the Tigers cruised to a four-set victory the last time the two met in Dallas in late 2007.

Who's Got Next?
After its three-match road swing, Memphis will return to the Elma Roane Fieldhouse for a pair of league contests versus Houston and 2009 C-USA Tournament champion, Rice. The Tigers and Cougars will battle it out at 7 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 15. The Memphis-Rice bout is set for 1 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 17.