The University of Memphis volleyball team’s season is quickly approaching and they are eager to build off a strong finish last year.
April Jauregui is entering her eighth season as the head coach of Tigers volleyball and is very excited for the upcoming season.
“I think our offseason went really well, we had the same lineup from last season with us this spring so that helped us train at a really high level,” Jauregui said. “I’m really excited with all of the new players we brought in and I have a very positive outlook (at the moment).”
The Tigers will look to build off a 15-17 (7-11 American Athletic Conference) record last season, their first season in the American after leaving Conference USA.
Jauregui said despite finishing below .500 she did not consider last season a bad one.
“Last year we were in a brand new conference, and (the reason) I didn’t consider last season a bad one was that we lost five five-set games,” Jauregui said. “If we had won those games, it would have changed our season completely.”
Jauregui said one of the ways they wanted to improve was by adding more depth to the team.
“This year we have more depth at those positions,” Jauregui said. “We tried to get players that we knew could make an impact immediately.”
She said the added depth will foster true competition for positions this season.
“The players we added will still have to earn their spot,” Jauregui said. “We don’t want anyone to think that their position is in the bag, plus with the depth if we have injuries, we know we have players that can step in (immediately).”
She also said she believes they have a whole team now and they can compete right at the top in the American.
“With the additions we made we should be competing right at the top with the other top (six) teams,” Jauregui said. “I believe that any of the top-seven teams can win the conference.”
The Tigers also received national recognition for their freshman recruiting class receiving “High Honorable Mention” from prepvolleyball.com. The list ranks the top 30 schools, then the next 25 are recognized with “Highest Honorable Mention” and then 44 others receive “High Honorable Mention” recognition.
“We feel really good about our recruiting class and this only helps build our credibility. The future is building really well here,” Jauregui said.
Jauregui will also be relying on her returning all-conference duo of senior middle blockers. Lauren Hawkins and Alexis Wesley hope to continue to play at a high-level.
“They both played at a really high level at the end of the season and hopefully they continue that going into this one,” Jauregui said.
She said she hopes for fans show up this year because the Tigers only have 13 home games.
“We’re gonna really need our fans to come out especially for the first game against Ole Miss,” Jauregui said. “I want to beat Ole Miss but I want the fans to come out and see it too.”
Overall, Jauregui said fans will like the experience because it is a fun, party-like atmosphere
“It will be fast, athletic and high-action I want fans to come out and see that level (of play),” Jauregui said.
The Tigers first home game of the season is against Ole Miss on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
