Volleyball Opens The American Slate with Memphis and Temple
September 26, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 26, 2013
The Cardinal volleyball team embarks on their new conference slate as play gets underway in The American with Memphis and Temple on tap Friday and Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center.
The University of Louisville will welcome an old rival in Memphis at 7 p.m. on Friday at the KFC Yum! Center. With an 8-5 record, the Tigers were 12-19 (7-9 C-USA) a season ago in Conference USA and look to make a big first impression to kick off inaugural conference play. The team lost three of its top four hitters, and will look to other returners such as senior Viktorija Teivane, who leads the team in kills so far this season with 158. The team was selected to finish tenth in the preseason AAC poll. The Louisville and Memphis series goes way back, covering four different conferences: Missouri Valley, Metro, Conference USA, and now the AAC. Louisville leads with a 29-6 series edge. Memphis' freshman Catlin Lilly will have somewhat of a homecoming as she hails from just across the river in New Albany, Ind.
TV: Fans who cannot attend the Memphis match can watch it on WHAS Digital 11.2, Comcast 207 and on Time Warner 432.
Temple is carrying a record of 9-3 and the Owls will try to keep their momentum going after being the seventh most improved team in the NCAA last year. The Owls will test their improvement versus the Cardinals on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center. TU improved lastr year with a 19-11 record after going just 8-20 in 2011and made its first Atlantic 10 tournament since 2009. Temple returns five starters, including their preseason All-AAC selection in senior Gabriella Matautia, who led the team in kills with 437 and had 14 double-doubles on the season last year. The seventh-favorite team in the preseason AAC poll held their own Temple Invitational last weekend. They welcomed Brown, Delaware State, and Hofstra to Philadelphia. The Owls were able to defeat Delaware State in straight sets, as well as Brown in their second game. However, they went down to eventual tournament champion, Hofstra, in four sets. Matautia and sophomore Sandra Sydlik were both named to the All-Tournament team.
