University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Mississippi State
Tigers Travel to Bulldog Invitational
Sep 11, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
First Serve
The Memphis volleyball team travels to the Bulldog Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers are looking to improve on a 2-4 start after dropping a pair of five-set decisions at home to Ole Miss and Arkansas State.
Protecting the Homefront
The Tigers look to return the prowess of the Elma Roane Fieldhouse to that of the early 2000's when the Blue and Gray went 83-29 from 2001-2008. More recently, Memphis has gone 34-41 since 2009.
Staying Connected
To learn more about the Memphis volleyball team and the rest of Tiger Athletics, visit GoTigersGo.com and follow @MemphisVolley on Twitter and Instagram.
Memphis Notes
• Memphis Head Coach April Jauregui (89-107), who is in her seventh-year at the helm of the volleyball program, needs 11 victories to eclipse the 100-win plateau.
• Aleksandra Petronijevic enters the weekend with 1,762 career digs. Petronijevic is currently ranked No. 3 on the all-time list but only needs 29 to move into second place and 50 to take over the top position in the record book.
• Senior Lauren Wright, the Tigers' lone member on the preseason All-Conference team, picked up her 1,000th career point on Aug. 30 against Alabama. The Texas native needs 143 kills to become the 23rd-player in school history to surpass the 1,000 kill-plateau.
• With 116 assists at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic in St. Louis, junior setter Veronica Zimmerman was named to the All-Tournament team after three-straight double-double performances. The Toledo, Ohio, native moved into eighth-place in the all-time record book against Ole Miss and surpassed 2,000 assists against UT Martin.
• Junior Alexis Wesley leads the team with 27 blocks. The middle blocker has logged five solo blocks and 22 block assists through six matches.
• Sophomore Catlin Lilly posted a career-high 23 digs in the season-opening loss to SEMO. The outside-hitter had more kills than any Memphis true freshman in the past decade and most kills by a freshman since Altrese Hawkins' breakout campaign in 2009.
• Freshmen Kate Gibson and Oluchi Agomuo each left their print on the matches in St. Louis and Memphis. The pair started all six contests and has combined for 114 kills and 94 digs for the season. Gibson has notched four double-doubles in the first six matches.
Schedule Breakdown
• The Blue and Gray open the season with tournaments the first four weekends of the season before hitting the road for the conference opener against Tulane
• The Tigers will face off against foes from the SEC, Ohio Valley, Southland, Sun Belt, A10, Southern and Big Sky Conferences in the first month of the season
• Memphis will host 13 matches at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, including the Memphis Intercollegiate Tournament on Sept. 5-6
Tigers Eyeing Record Book • Seniors Aleksandra Petronijevic and Lauren Wright are each nearing career milestones. Petronijevic needs 50 digs to set the program career record while Wright needs 143 kills to eclipse 1,000 for her career.
• Junior Veronica Zimmerman currently sits at ninth-place in her career for assists with 2,095. Zimmerman needs 434 more to move into seventh place.
Season Breakdown
• Senior Lauren Wright was named to the All-Conference team after leading the squad with 408.5 points in her junior campaign
• The Tigers were picked to finish eighth in the American, despite returning four starters and eight letterwinners
• SMU was pegged as the preseason favorite by American Athletic after receiving 9-of-11 first-place votes
