The University of Memphis volleyball team split the weekend with a 1-3 loss at Tulsa, but a close 3-2 win at Wichita State. Head Coach Sean Burdette, in a press release, speaks on the excitement after a win against the Shockers.
“What a great team road win today,” Burdette said. “Wichita is a tough place and environment to play in with their arena, band and fans.”
Game versus Tulsa
The Tigers recorded their ninth loss in conference when they traveled to Tulsa Friday. The Golden Hurricanes won the match by scores of 25-19, 25-27, 25-22 and 25-21. Tulsa improved to 15-11 on the season, winning their eighth conference game.
Sabrina Bianco and Hannah Flowers led the way for the Tigers. Bianco recorded her fourth-consecutive double-double game with 41 assists and 14 digs. Flowers downed 18 kills in the match while also adding some defense with four blocks in the contest.
Dilara Gedikoglu led the charge on offense for Tulsa with 26 kills in the match, and she also added 10 digs to give her 13 double-doubles on the season. Callie Cook was behind her with 15 kills and also added five blocks.
Game versus Wichita State
After a loss in Tulsa Friday, Memphis clawed out a victory in Wichita, Kansas beating the Shockers 3-2 Sunday. The scores in the match were 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 19-25 and 16-14. With the win, the Tigers earned their fifth win in conference and are now 16-10 overall on the season.
Jada Birkel was the player of the game in this one. She downed a career-high in kills with 15, and she also scored the final two points to give Memphis the win. Bianco recorded her fifth-straight double-double when she dished out 51 assists and collected 19 digs. Flowers also collected 19 kills to give her 977 career kills. She only needs 23 more to reach 1,000 and has two games left in the season.
The Shockers were led by Megan Taflinger with 17 kills and nine digs in Sunday’s game. Sophia Rohling also had a good game with eight kills, five blocks and two aces.
What’s Next
The volleyball team will come into their final regular-season home matches this weekend when Houston and Tulane come to town.
Houston is coming in the weekend with a 15-14 record but a 9-5 conference record. They have lost the last two games and three out of the four. With that in mind, Memphis has a chance to ride their momentum win over the Shockers into a tough match-up with the Cougars.
Tulane is coming into the weekend with a 19-8 regular record and a 9-5 conference record. They do have to play SMU Friday before meeting the Tigers Sunday. The Green Wave is on a four-game winning streak and looks like a postseason title contender for the American Athletic Conference tournament.
The game against the Cougars is Parent’s Day, and the action starts at 7 p.m., while the game against the Green Wave is Senior Day and starts at 2 p.m.
