Volleyball With 3-2 Win At Ole Miss

Tuesday, September 11

Oxford, Miss.

7 pm

University of Memphis

7-5

Ole Miss

9-2

Memphis

Ole Miss

Photo by: Brandon Dill

Sep 11, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Boxscore (UM 3, OM 2)Memphis Season Statistics

Tigers secure first win over the Rebels in Oxford since 1995.

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Memphis one-two punch of Hannah Flowers and Kelsea Bivins combined for 37 kills and 12 digs to lift the Tigers to a thrilling 3-2 win over Ole Miss at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center Tuesday night.

The Tigers won the match by scores of 16-25, 25-21, 30-28, 20-25 and 15-10. Memphis improves its record to 7-5 with its fifth-straight win. The Rebels fall to 9-2 and had their eight-match win streak halted.

Memphis defeated the Rebels for the first time in the series since Oct. 26, 2005. The Tigers' victory in Oxford was the program's first since Oct. 24, 1995. Tuesday's match, though, was only the second between the two Mid-South rivals since 2008. From 1993-2007, the two programs met at least once each season, including two times in four-straight campaigns from 1993-96.

Flowers knocked down a career-high 20 kills, while hitting at a .405 clip. She also had two digs and five total blocks. Bivins added 17 kills and 10 digs.

Flowers and Bivins each had a hand in the match's final two points to give Memphis the victory. A Bivins kill put the Tigers in position to win at 14-10, and a Flowers-Kelsey Walter block followed for the 15-10 set win and 3-2 match victory.

Head coach Sean Burdette comments
"I'm so proud of this team, and how they improve every day in practice. We played a very physical Ole Miss team tonight, and we received contributions from everyone. Hannah and Kelsea led us in kills, but we did a great job spreading our offense around as we had five players with 20 or more attacks. We also did a great job with our blocking. We were physical at the net, and Sarah and Kelsey did an outstanding job occupying their middles. It was a great team effort tonight."

Tigers Tidbits

The match was a homecoming for Memphis head coach Sean Burdette. He served as an assistant coach at Ole Miss from 2011-13.
Hannah Flowers had her ninth-straight, double-figure kills match this season with 20 kills versus Ole Miss.
The double-figures kills match was Flowers' 22^ndof her career.
Flowers went over the 400-kills plateau for her career Tuesday. She now has 416 kills.
Kelsea Bivins posted the 19^thdouble-figures kills match of her career against Ole Miss with her 17 kills.
Bivins notched her seventh career double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs versus Ole Miss. It was her third double-double in her last four matches.
Molly Murrihy recorded her third career double-double performance Tuesday. She had 46 assists – one of tying her career-best – and a career-high 13 digs.
Kelsey Walter added seven total blocks in Tuesday's win. It was her seventh match in which she collected five or more blocks this season, including in four of the last five outings.

Statistic	Memphis Leaders	Ole Miss Leaders
Kills	Hannah Flowers, 20 Kelsea Bivins, 17	Emily Stroup, 27 Leah Mulkey, 17
Assists	Molly Murrihy, 46	Jordan Fate, 46
Digs	Mady Ruhlman, 18	Caroline Adams, 17
Blocks	Kelsey Walter, 7	Leah Mulkey, 5
Aces	Molly Murrihy, 2	Emily Stroup, 2

Set One

The two rivals matched each other point-for-point in the set's first 21 points.
Ole Miss held an 11-10 lead.
Kelsea Bivins and Anna Palmer each logged two kills early to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
Ole Miss, though, won the set's next seven points to push out to an 18-10 advantage.
The Rebels held Memphis at bay the remainder of the set for the 25-16 win.

Set Two

Memphis and Ole Miss battled to six ties in the first 14 points, with the last coming at 7-all.
The Tigers pulled in front 10-7 on a Sarah Marlatt kill and two Rebels' errors.
The Rebels fought back to knot the set at 11-all.
The teams then went back-and-forth with eight ties over the next 18 points.
With the score tied at 20-all, Memphis went on a 4-0 mini-run to take a 24-20 lead.
A Hannah Flowers kill started the spurt, and Bivins followed with an ace for a 22-20 advantage.
A Flowers-Kelsey Walter block and an Ole Miss error gave the Tigers set point.
After they cut the Memphis lead to 24-21, a Rebels' service error gave the Tigers the 25-21 set victory.

Set Three

The competitive match got even tighter in the third set with 13 ties and four lead changes.
The third set also produced some extra action.
Memphis jumped out to a 10-6 lead on two kills and one block from Flowers. Palmer added a kill and Molly Murrihy a block.
The Tigers maintained their lead until 13-12 when an attack error allowed Ole Miss to tie the set at 13-all.
The set was tied five times over the next 12 points, with the last coming at 19-all.
Memphis grabbed a 23-21 lead on two Walter kills and one Flowers kill.
Ole Miss answered with a 3-0 run to earn set point on its serve at 24-23, but a Rebels' service error allowed Memphis to tie the set at 24-all.
In the set's extra action, Ole Miss pulled in front three times with set point on its serve.
Memphis, though, answered each time and tie the set at 27-all.
The Tigers pushed out in front 28-27, but Ole Miss responded with a kill to tie the set at 28-all.
A Rebels' service error gave Memphis set point at 29-28, and the Tigers took advantage of it.
A Flowers kill off a Murrihy assist gave Memphis the 30-28 set win and a 2-1 match lead.

Set Four

The Rebels grabbed the early advantage at 6-3, but Memphis answered with a 7-2 spurt for a 10-8 lead.
Two Bivins kills, a Flowers kill and Marlatt block keyed the run.
Ole Miss responded and used an 8-4 run to regain the advantage at 16-14.
Memphis came back to tie the set at 19-all on kills from Marlatt and Murrihy and an ace from Palmer.
The Rebels went on a 4-0 run to take the lead and control of the set.
Ole Miss won the set 25-20 to knot the match at 2-2.

Set Five

The Tigers ran out to a 6-1 advantage in the deciding set.
Kills from Walter, Bivins and Flowers (2) and an ace from Murrihy propelled Memphis in the run.
Ole Miss had an answer with an 8-4 spurt to slice the Tigers' advantage to 10-9.
The Rebels, though, did not tie or gain the lead down the stretch.
Memphis held off the Rebels' charge, using a 3-0 mini-run to push out to a 13-9 lead.
A Bivins kill, a Flowers kill and a Murrihy ace accounted for the points in the spurt.
Another Bivins kill put match point on the Tigers' serve at 14-10.
A Flowers-Walter block ended the match, giving Memphis the 15-10 set win and 3-2 match victory.