Oct. 23, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis volleyball squad will resume its six-match homestand this weekend with a pair of Conference USA tilts versus UCF at 7 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 24, and Southern Miss on Sun., Oct. 26 at 1 p.m.

At 13-10 overall and 4-5 in league play, the Tigers are still in contention for a top-four bye in the upcoming C-USA Championships to be held in Memphis, Nov. 20-23. Memphis is powered by its defense that ranks first in C-USA and 11th nationally with 2.77 blocks per set. The Tigers also hold opposing teams to a combined .152 attack percentage--second lowest in the league. The defense begins at the net, with middle blocker Emily Underwood. The 6-3 middle leads the league and ranks third in the country with 1.60 blocks per game. Her 144 total blocks is the most in the nation, while her 127 block assists is fifth on Memphis's single-season ledger. Sophomore libero Christine Bach anchors the back row. She leads the team with 410 digs and ranks second in C-USA with 4.56 digs per set.

Memphis's offensive attack hits .207 as a team. The Tigers are paced by reigning C-USA Setter of the Week Laura Côté. The senior setter became Memphis all-time assists leader in Sunday's match versus Tulsa and averages 10.26 assists per frame. Rebekah Strickland is Côté's most efficient option, leading the team in hitting (.288), kills (226) and kills per set (2.76). Memphis has the league's second strongest serve at 1.37 aces per game. Bach and Shaffer rank third and ninth, respectively in C-USA in aces per set.

Scouting UCF
UCF comes into Friday's match with an identical 13-10 record. However, they sit in a tie for fifth in the league standings with a 5-4 mark. Since defeating the Tigers, 3-1, on Oct. 10, the Knights have dropped four straight matches. UCF hits .213 as a team and is led by Erin Campbell and Janine Williams. Campbell has a team-high 307 kills and ranks fifth in the league with 3.41 kills per set. Williams is 10th in the C-USA with 3.20 kills per period. Jenny Heppert's .335 hitting average rates as the league's sixth-best mark, while her 26 service aces ranks seventh. Two-time C-USA Setter of the Week Lauren Rosenthal has played a sizeable role in the Knights' turnaround. She has 774 assists.

Defensively, Kathleen Curry is tops on the team with 255 digs. Campbell is a close second with 205. UCF averages 14.02 digs per set.

The All-time Series vs. UCF
UCF defeated Memphis 3-1 in Orlando on Oct. 10 to snap a five-game losing streak to Memphis. However, the Tigers continue to hold the advantage in the all-time series, 9-6. In the last match versus UCF, Katlin Inglish led Memphis with a double-double performance of 14 kills and 14 digs and the Tigers jumped out to an early lead, but UCF came back to score wins in the next three set to round out a 3-1 decision in C-USA action. Inglish was impressive, hitting .400 on 30 swings. She was joined in double-figures by Rebekah Strickland and Lauren Thompson, who downed 13 and 11 kills each. Inglish posted a match-best 14 digs. Memphis got 12 digs each from Christine Bach and Lauren Trouy. Carolyn Baker was solid at the net, making six blocks, including three solo rejections.

The two squads met three times in 2007, with Memphis earning hard-fought victories in the final two contests. In the last meeting, the Tigers got a career-high 30 kills and 21 digs from outside hitter Ashley Liford to battle its way to a 3-1 win in the final match of the opening day of the 2007 Conference USA Championships. Memphis found victory hard to come by the last time it made the trip to Orlando. Seniors Shelby Burton and Liford combined for 44 kills, accounted for 51 of Memphis' 91 points, and when the Tigers needed them most, the duo was there, stuffing a UCF attack to give the Tigers a 13-11 lead late in game five. The two-point lead provided Memphis with just enough cushion, as it outlasted UCF 3-2 to clinch its third 20-win season in four years.

Scouting Southern Miss
Southern Miss is 13-9 and 3-6 in league play. One of those three wins came against Memphis on Oct. 12. Just like UCF, the Golden Eagles have not won since dropping the Tigers. Southern Miss has one of the top defenses in C-USA, holding opponents to .155 hitting. They rank third in blocks per set with 2.25. Sarah Jane Bowden and Maia Ivanova rank in the league in blocks and digs. Bowden's 1.08 blocks ranks fourth, while Ivanova's 3.72 digs per set is seventh among C-USA players. The Golden Eagles offense is paced by Ashley Petrinic's 182 kills and 2.46 kills per frame.

The All-time Series vs. Southern Miss
The Oct. 12 loss to USM was the first for Memphis since the 2003 season. It also snapped a seven-match win streak for the Tigers. Emily Underwood hit .393 with 12 kills and Christine Bach made a match-high 24 digs, but Memphis was unable to hold off Southern Miss. Memphis is 22-12 all-time against Southern Miss.