Tigers Come Away with Two Wins After Five Set Thriller

Friday, August 25

Memphis, Tenn.

1 p.m.

University of Memphis

1-0,0-0AAC

Alcorn State

0-1,0-0SWAC

Alcorn

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Tigers Come Away with Two Wins After Five Set Thriller

Aug 25, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis volleyball kicks off the 2023 season with two wins after defeating Alcorn State 3-0 and taking a five-set thriller against Samford.

"Certainly, an exciting first day here in the Finch Center, a new court new atmosphere, incredible fan experience today." Head coach Sean Burdette shared. "Came away with two wins which is really exciting, beating Alcorn early this afternoon and tonight against Samford who has been a regular team in the NCAA tournament. I'm really proud of the team being able to adapt to the changes that were needed and then players stepping up at the end of the day."

Alcorn State 0, Memphis 3

HOW IT HAPPENED

•       Memphis started off strong scoring the first point of the match on a kill from Reilly Briggs.
•       Tabytha Toelke finished off the first set with a hit to the back corner, finishing off the Braves 25-15.
•       Jordan Heatherly came up with her second ace of the match double the Tiger lead in the second set.
•       Tigers won a long rally in the end of the second set as Madison Rice-Locket sent a kill to the backcourt.
•       Memphis went on an 11-1 run after giving up the first two points of set three.
•       Multiple Tigers contributed to the 25-10 win in set three.

NOTABLES

•       The Tigers showed a .409 attacking average with 49 kills in the match.
•       Alexis Lewis led Memphis with nine kills, followed closely by Hannah Jones, Toelke and Briggs with eight.
•       Abigail Schlueter led the Tigers with 11 digs, followed by Rylee Busse with eight and Toelke with seven.
•       Memphis ended the match with five aces: Heatherly (2), Autumn Flynn (1), Schlueter (1) and Busse (1).

Samford 2, Memphis 3

HOW IT HAPPENED

•       Memphis and Samford started the match trading point for point, Toelke nailing down the first two kills. The Bulldogs added a 6-1 run before Briggs end stopped the momentum with a kill.
•       Clara Bednarek made a big block in the middle of the first set to stop a Samford run.
•       Memphis challenged a net violation at the send of set one, losing its challenge on an inconclusive call.
•       The Tigers opened the second set on a five-point run, picking up the momentum.
•       Memphis added back-to-back kills in the middle of the second set as Rice-Locket and Toelke the back left corner.
•       Briggs puts down a kill to spark a run by the Tigers late in the set two, extending the lead. Memphis ends the set on 10-3 run, finishing at 25-16.
•       Memphis and Samford open up set three going back and forth, with the Tigers holding a slight 11-8 lead off back-to-back errors by the Bulldogs.
•       Samford started their climb back on a 7-4 run late in the third set, bringing the score to 21-20, Memphis. The Tigers took set three 25-21.
•       The Bulldogs took a 4-1 lead early in the fourth set before the Tigers began their crawl back. Memphis capitalized off of Samford service errors to chip away at the lead.
•       Bednarek comes up big with a block halfway through the fourth set to slow down the Samford momentum.
•       Memphis wins a challenge of a tipped ball in the middle of the fourth set, saving their final challenge and bringing the score to 17-14, Samford. The Bulldogs would go on to take the set 25-16.
•       Memphis and Samford open going point for point in an intensity filled fifth set. Tigers took a one point lead at 9-8 after back-to-back Bulldog errors.
•       Eleftheria Baxa and Briggs come up with a huge block to to put the Tigers up 12-9 in the fifth set.
•       Briggs ended the match with a dagger to the left back corner, Tigers took it 15-10.

NOTABLES

•       The Tigers totalled 53 hits tonight, led by Toelke and Briggs with 11, followed closely by Rice-Locket and Bednarek with nine a piece.
•       Schlueter led Memphis with 22 digs in the match, with Loren Robertson also adding double digit digs qt 10.
•       Briggs and Bednarek both showed a big presence at the net, notching five blocks a piece the lead the Tigers.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Volleyball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.