Volleyball Preview: Ole Miss

Tuesday, September 11

Oxford, Miss.

7 pm

University of Memphis

Ole Miss

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Sep 10, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Tigers, Rebels renew Mid-South rivalry in Oxford Tuesday.

Live Stream (SEC Network Plus)
Live Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Coming off its Tiger Invitational title, the University of Memphis volleyball team returns to the court with its second mid-week match of the season Tuesday when the Tigers travel to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss.

The 7 p.m. (CT) match is set for the Gillom Athletics Performance Center on the Ole Miss campus. SEC Network Plus is airing the match.

The Tigers and Rebels renew their Mid-South rivalry that has been nearly dormant the past decade. The only meeting between the two programs in the last 10 seasons (2008-17) was in 2014 when Ole Miss posted a 3-2 victory in the Memphis Intercollegiate (Sept. 5, 2014). Prior to 2008, the two rivals played every season from 1993-2007, including twice in four-straight campaigns from 1993-96.

Memphis' last win in the series was a 3-0 victory in 2005 (Oct. 26). The Tigers' last victory in Oxford was a 3-1 win in 1995 (Oct. 24).

	Memphis	Ole Miss
Record	6-5	9-1
Series Record		OM leads 36-32
Kills Leader	Hannah Flowers, 139	Emily Stroup, 169
Assists Leader	Molly Murrihy, 374	Lauren Bars, 205
Digs Leader	Kaitlyn Gehler, 148	Caroline Adams, 140
Blocks Leader	Kelsey Walter, 55	Aubrey Sultemeieir, 36
Aces Leader	Hannah Flowers, 27	Nicole Purcell, 10

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
(On the match)
"We need to get down to Oxford and have a good match tomorrow evening. Ole Miss has been playing very, very well and has some wins over some solid Power 5 opponents. It's going to be a physical match. Our defense has to be ready, and we have to play well at the net. We need a really good team effort.

(On his homecoming to Ole Miss)
"It will be exciting to go to Oxford and see friends. But, more than anything, this is a business trip. We want to try to put our best foot forward and come out with a win."

Tigers Tidbits

Wednesday's match is a homecoming for Memphis head coach Sean Burdette, who served as an assistant at Ole Miss from 2011-13.
The Tigers set an American Athletic Conference match record (3 sets) for aces. Memphis served a conference-record 14 aces in the 3-0 win over North Alabama Sept. 8 to clinch the Tiger Invitational championship. Freshman Natalie Benson led the Tigers with a career-high six aces in the match.
Speaking of aces, Memphis is third in The American with 67 winners after 11 matches. Sophomore Hannah Flowers leads the conference in aces with 0.66/set (27 total). Last season, the Tigers had a total of 130 aces (32 matches), and the individual leader had 22 aces.
Hannah Flowers was named to this week's American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll. It was the first league accolade of her career. Last week, Flowers picked up the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week honor.
Four Tigers have earned all-tournament team recognition in the early portion of the 2018 schedule. The honored Tigers are: Kelsea Bivins (UT Martin Skyhawk Invitational/Tiger Invitational), Hannah Flowers (Tiger Invitational Most Outstanding Player), Sarah Marlatt (Memphis Invitational) and Kelsey Walter (Tiger Invitational).
Kelsey Walter has been a blocking machine early in 2018. She has six matches with five or more total blocks, including a career-high 10 versus UT Martin Aug. 31. The 10 total blocks versus the Skyhawks were the most by a Tiger since 2007 when Shelby Burton had 11 total blocks versus Eastern Illinois (Aug. 31, 2007). The 10 block assists were the most by a Tiger since 1998 when Jenni Roselli had 11 against Ole Miss (Oct. 20, 1998).
Memphis is one of three schools in The American with two players ranked in the top 10 of the league in kills (Tulsa/UCF). Hannah Flowers is seventh (139) and Kelsea Bivins is ninth (128).