Memphis (17-10, 2-5 in Conference USA) must have solid play down the stretch from its six freshmen and two sophomores to earn a spot in the C-USA tournament.
Head coach Carrie Yerty said her young team has shown signs of maturing, though.
“(The coaching staff) showed them how to be terminators and follow a game plan,” Yerty said. “The team has progressed all year with their level of play.
“Anytime you got six freshmen and two sophomores on your team that are actually contributing all the time, you got to be able to install your game plan and interrupt what you did in practice for game play.”
The preparation has been paying off lately. The Tigers are on a four-game winning streak including two games over conference opponents.
Memphis beat DePaul and Marquette 3-0 over the weekend.
Though the Tigers are winning, they could be described as a streaky squad.
After a school record nine game-winning streak, Memphis lost six games in a row - five to C-USA teams.
Yerty said she hopes this is a sign her team is ready to turn their misfortunes around in conference play.
“We have our work cut out for us this weekend playing Louisville and Cincinnati,” Yerty said. “I think there is always a possibility if our team shows up and plays together we can earn a split or win both games.”
The Bearcats (15-6, 6-1 in C-USA) will be the first road test for Memphis this Friday, and Saturday, the Tigers travel to play the Cardinals (18-3, 7-0 in C-USA).
Louisville and Cincinnati sit atop C-USA in second and third place behind the South Florida Bulls (21-5, 8-0 in C-USA).
Memphis is No. 10 ahead of TCU, Marquette, DePaul and East Carolina.
Memphis must hold on to their position because the top 12 of the 14 teams earn a C-USA tournament berth.
Freshman outside hitter Nan Kimbrell said the Tigers have an advantage going into the final six games because they have everything to gain.
“I think we have a lot of momentum,” Kimbrell said. “We are like the underdogs. We have nothing to lose.”
Junior middle hitter Shella Neba said the team has to remain focused to stay in the running for the postseason.
“Everybody’s goal is to get to the conference championship,” Neba said. “We have been talking about it since the beginning of the year - since before we stepped out on the court. So we all have to remain unified in that goal and do whatever it takes to get there.”
