After finishing 2-1 in their first tournament of the season, the University of Memphis volleyball team looks to earn three key victories in the Belmont Tournament in Nashville this weekend.
The tournament features UTEP (1-1), South Alabama (1-2) and host Belmont (0-3), along with the Tigers.
Memphis got the season off to a great start winning two of three games in the Georgia Hospitality Invitational Tournament. Memphis swept High Point and Wofford both 3-0 before falling in the championship game to the Georgia Bulldogs 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-19).
Coach April Jauregui said her team gained valuable experience in their Georgia Hospitality Invitational Tournament, but she said they must remain composed through tough stretches of games.
“We got to be tested early,” she said in a press release. “We saw glimpses of some really great things. Tonight, we simply erred ourselves out of an opportunity to win. That just comes down to confidence and maintaining poise in key situations. But this was, overall, a great experience for our team.”
Memphis will look to bounce back from that loss Friday, when they face UTEP in the first game of the three-match tournament. If the Tigers expect to win the Belmont Tournament, they will need strong performances from senior setter Veronica Zimmerman, sophomore outside hitter Oluchi Agomuo, junior outside hitter Caitlin Lilly and freshman libero Mandy Rhulman.
Through only three games, Zimmerman has already accumulated 76 total assists on the year, including 35 in the Tigers season opening win against High Point and 33 in the Tigers 3-0 loss to Georgia.
Agomuo also has had an impressive start to the season. The outside hitter racked up 29 kills through the Tigers first tournament, including 12 against High Point and 11 against Georgia. Both Zimmerman and Agomuo were named to the all-tournament team.
Lilly has been a key factor in helping the Tigers come away from their opening tournament with a 2-1 record. She not only racked up 26 kills, but she added 24 digs as well through the team’s first three games.
Rhulman, while only a freshman, made it clear through her play that she is ready to take on the challenge at the libero spot. She leads the team with 36 total digs through the Tigers first three games, including back-to-back double digit dig performance against Wofford (13 digs) and Georgia (15 digs).
The Tigers will begin the tournament against UTEP at 10 a.m. Friday, before taking on South Alabama Friday at 3:30 p.m. Then Memphis will finish up the tournament against Belmont at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The University of Memphis volleyball team will hope to go one step further this weekend and win the Belmont Tournament. Photo by Joe Murphy
