Memphis Outlasts Louisiana in Five-Set Thriller for First Win of 2026

Saturday, September 5

Lafayette, La.

1 p.m.

University of Memphis

1-4

Louisiana

2-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Memphis	25	16	29	31	15	3
Louisiana	23	25	27	33	11	2

Memphis Outlasts Louisiana in Five-Set Thriller for First Win of 2026

Sep 05, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score

LAFAYETTE, La. – The University of Memphis volleyball team defeated Louisiana in five-sets inside Earl K. Long Gym on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Memphis opened the match on a 5-2 run with kills from Caitlyn Little, Amanda Hardt and Lily Hamilton. Louisiana responded with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 5-5. The Tigers regained momentum following back-to-back kills from Little and an ace from Arianna Mongare. The Ragin' Cajuns added late kills from Taylor Gaines, Harley Krause, and Lolo Lambert, but
Memphis held on to take the opening set, 25-23.

Louisiana built a 12-3 lead to start the second set before Hardt sparked a 3-0 run for the Tigers. The Ragin' Cajuns answered with consecutive 3-0 runs to extend their lead to 23-13. A late Little kill and a Louisiana attack error were not enough to spark a comeback as the Ragin' Cajuns secured the set, 25-16, on kills from Jazmine Gaston and Lambert.

Both teams traded points early in the third set before a Sarah Schnell kill sparked a 5-0 run to give Louisiana a 12-10 lead. Memphis responded with kills from Hamilton, Little and Mongare to pull back ahead. Late kills from Lambert and Krause kept Louisiana close, but Hardt, Little and Sydney Marshall closed out a 29-27 set victory for the Tigers.

The fourth set saw both teams exchange big runs. Memphis started with a 3-0 push before Louisiana surged ahead 10-5 with a 6-0 run. The teams traded points until the Ragin' Cajuns strung together four straight points to gain late control. After pushing past the 25-point mark, consecutive Memphis attack errors gave Louisiana a 33-31 set victory.

Memphis jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the final set before a 5-0 run put Louisiana back in front. Hamilton keyed a 4-0 response to put the Tigers up 10-7. Lambert landed two late kills for Louisiana, but back-to-back kills from Little and Hardt sealed the 15-11 set win and match victory for Memphis.

NOTABLES

This marks the first win of the 2026 season for the Tigers.
- The last victory was against East Carolina on Nov. 16, 2025.
This is the first match that three Tigers have recorded 10-plus kills in a single match since Sept. 11, 2025 against Chattanooga.
Caitlyn Little led the Tigers by tying her career high of 26 kills.
- Little has recorded her fifth 20-plus career kill performance.
Sydney Marshall dished out a career-high 57 assists and seven kills.
- Marshall is the first Tiger to record 50-plus assists since Maddy Bach recorded 58 on Sept. 11, 2025, against Chattanooga.
- The junior recorded 10 digs during the contest.
Amanda Hardt and Lily Hamilton followed with 15 and 14, respectively.
- Hamilton tied her career-high in kills at 14.
Kaylee Parker set a new career high in blocks with six, which was a team high.
The Tigers have tied their season high in service aces at 10.
Memphis recorded 71 assists, its second-highest single-match total since 2008.
- The last time Memphis recorded 70-plus assists was against Cincinnati on Sept. 29, 2013, with 78.

UP NEXT
The Tigers return home to host the Carrie Yerty Classic starting Thursday, Sept. 10. Memphis opens the tournament against Alcorn State at 10 a.m. on Thursday before facing Boston College on Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. The Tigers close the weekend against Mississippi State on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 3 p.m. All three matches will stream on ESPN+.

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.