Oct. 21, 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -

2010 Volleyball Notes (UTEP-UCF)

After splitting a pair of C-USA home matches last weekend, the University of Memphis (12-8, 3-5 C-USA) volleyball team will hit the road for a tough and long two-match road swing at UTEP and UCF. The Tigers will take on the Miners at 7 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 22, before matching up with UCF on Sun., Oct. 24 at Noon.

Tigers Tales
• Memphis moved to 12-8 on the year and 3-5 in Conference USA play with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Houston on Friday night and a four-set loss to Rice on Sunday afternoon.
• Behind Altrese Hawkins' team-high 16 kills and.406 hitting percentage, Memphis rallied from a 2-1 deficit to outlast Houston in five sets. The sophomore also led Memphis's blocking efforts with five total blocks (one block solo, four block assists). Jovanovic downed 15 kills, while Inglish finished with a season-high 11 kills. Hajnalka Molnar set a match-high 49 assists.
• The Tigers got a match-high 16 kills from Altrese Hawkins and Marija Jovanovic connected for 13 kills, but the Memphis offense hit under .200 in all four sets and was held to .107 for the day. The U of M recorded 11 service aces on the day. However, 19 Tiger's service errors combined with 17 total blocks by the Rice defense was too much to overcome.
• Senior outside hitter Katlin Inglish put together her strongest performance of the year with 11 kills in Friday's win over Houston.
• Sophomore Maja Kostic picked up a career-high 10 digs in the Tiger's 3-1 loss to Rice on Sunday.
• Senior libero Christine Bach continues to chase Memphis' all-time digs record. The Dresden, Germany native, ranks second all-time at Memphis with 1,580 digs. Bach has 282 digs this season ranks ninth in C-USA with 3.70 digs per set.
• Sophomores Vesna Jelic and Marija Jovanovic rank No. 1 and No. 2 in Conference USA with 29 (.039 sa/s) and 28 (0.37 sa/s) service aces, respectively. Jovanovic led the league last week, but was overtaken by Jelic, who served up two aces in weekend action. In the latest NCAA stat report, Jelic ranks 59th nationally, while Jovanovic checks in at 82nd. Memphis leads C-USA and ranks eighth in the country, with 149 aces and 1.96 aces per set. The Tigers lead the league's second-best serving team by 49 aces. Christine Bach, Hajnalka Molnar and Maja Kostic also rank among the league's top-10 in aces.

Last Time Out
Rice 3, Memphis 1

Rice (12-9, 7-2 C-USA)		23  25  25  25
Memphis (12-8, 3-5 C-USA)    	25  22  22  19

MEMPHIS, Tenn.-Memphis used a late-set comeback to win set one, but Rice rebounded to win the next three sets and hand the Tigers a 3-1 defeat in C-USA action at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Memphis falls to 12-8 overall and 3-5 in league play. Rice improves to 12-9, 7-2 in the conference.

The Tigers got a match-high 16 kills from Altrese Hawkins and Marija Jovanovic connected for 13 kills, but the Memphis offense hit under .200 in all four sets and was held to .107 for the day. The U of M recorded 11 service aces on the day. However, 19 Tiger's service errors combined with 17 total blocks by the Rice defense was too much to overcome.

Maja Kostic, Vesna Jelic and Becky Shaffer all had 10 digs for the Memphis defense.

Scouting UTEP
UTEP (12-9; 4-4 C-USA) were swept in both league matches at Tulane and Southern Miss last weekend. The Miners have lost four of its last six matches, including being swept three times.

UTEP is the league's top blocking club, ranking 27th nationally with 2.61 blocks per set. Three UTEP players are averaging over 1.00 blocks per set, led by Kyla Muela's 1.20 blocks per set average. Muela is second on the team with 60 total blocks and ranks 45th nationally in blocks per set. Setter Patty Jarmoc leads the team with 67 total blocks. Jeane Horton and Cassandra Burruel average 1.05 and 1.02 blocks per set, respectively.

The Miners defense holds opposing teams to a collective .204 percentage. Libero Stephanie Figueroa leads the team with 288 digs (4.11 d/s). Freshman Melissa Toth, who has picked up 118 digs, averages 2.03 digs per set. Jennifer Nolasco and Jarmoc check in with 129 and 125 digs.

UTEP boasts the league's second most-efficient offense, with a .325 team hitting percentage. Jarmoc sets the tone for the Miners, hitting .369 on 74 kills, while averaging 9.10 assists per set. Jarmoc's No. 1 attacking option is Toth and the freshman has put up solid numbers. She leads the team and ranks seventh in C-USA with 4.04 points per set and 3.50 kills per set. She has connected for a team-high 203 kills. Toth also ranks fifth in C-USA with 0.33 service aces per set (19 aces). Jacqueline Cason is second on the squad with 120 kills, while Bridget Logan and Horton have 118 and 11 terminations, respectively.

All-Time Series vs. the Miners
Memphis leads the series versus UTEP, 5-3. The Miners have won the last two meetings, sweeping the Tigers in 2009 and ending Memphis' season in 2008. The U of M won the first-ever match between the two schools, 3-0, in 1986, and won four-straight against the Miners from 2006-08.

Scouting UCF
UCF is an even 10-10 overall, but 3-5 in league play. The Knights opened the season 7-0, but went on a nine-match losing streak before claiming a pair of wins against ECU. UCF, who has lost 10 of its last 13, split last weekend's league action. They dropped a five-set decision at Southern Miss on Friday and bounced back to take a five-set win at Tulane on Sunday.

Kristin Fisher highlights the Knights offense with a team-high 319 kills. Fisher ranks third in C-USA and 13th in the country with 4.49 kills per set. She also rates third in the league and 19th nationally with 4.93 points per set. Fisher has over 100 more kills and nearly 400 more attempts than her next closest teammate. Setter Rachel Vukson, a transfer from Tulsa, averages 10.17 assists per set. Sophomore middle blocker Tory McCutcheon, is second in C-USA and 40th nationally with a .370 attack percentage. Nichole Riedel is seventh in the league, hitting .337 on 124 kills.

Libero Meredith Murphy patrols the back row defense with a club-high 300 digs (4.11 dig/s).

All-Time Series vs. the Knights
Memphis leads the all-time series 11-7. The two clubs split the 2009 season series with both teams winning at home. The series dates back to the 1979 season, when UCF handed Memphis a 2-1 defeat. Memphis came away with 2-0 sweeps in 1980 and `81. The two split the season series in 2008, with both teams winning on its home floor. Since UCF joined C-USA in 2005, the Tigers are 7-3 versus the Knights.

Who's Got Next?
Memphis returns home for weekend matches against Conference USA rivals Southern Miss and Tulane. The Tigers and Golden Eagles will battle it out at 7 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 29, before hosting the Green Wave on Sun., Oct 31 at 1 p.m.