Tulsa to Play Final Home Matches of Regular Season vs. Memphis, SMU

Match Notes
TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa volleyball team is set to play its final two regular season matches at Donald W. Reynolds Center this weekend. The Golden Hurricane (14-11, 7-5 The American) will host Memphis on Friday at 12 noon, before playing SMU in the regular season finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Tulsa will look to secure a spot in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Tournament this weekend. Of the six available seeds, only two teams have clinched a berth (Cincinnati and UCF). The West Division and two at-large spots are both still up for grabs.

Last Friday, Tulsa defeated Houston, the top team in the west on the road [26-28, 25-17, 25-19, 28-26]. The Golden Hurricane would then suffer a five-set heartbreak at Tulane [23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13] on November 3.

The Golden Hurricane enter Friday's match vs. Memphis tied for fifth in The American standings at 7-5 with Tulane. A pair of wins for head coach Ryan Wills' squad would go a long way in sending Tulsa to Orlando in two weeks.

Memphis head coach Sean Burdette has the Tigers (15-9, 4-8) headed in the right direction in his second season atop the helm. From a win-loss point of view, the Tigers have excelled expectations. In addition to winning four more matches than a year ago, they have been swept just three times all season vs. nine times in conference play alone in 2018. Tulsa captured its first conference sweep of the season at Memphis on October 6 [25-14, 25-23, 25-19]. It also marked the 100th career win for Wills at Tulsa. He became the fourth head coach in program history to reach 100 career wins and the third fastest to the century mark.

Memphis, who is 4-2 in its last six contest, was picked to finish in last place (12th) in the preseason coaches' poll. Tulsa leads the all-time series 16-12.

Lisa Seifert is in her 25th season as SMU's head coach. Under her tutelage, she has guided the Mustangs to second in the west division, and currently the head-to-head tiebreaker vs. Tulsa. The two teams played five sets in Dallas on October 4, as the Golden Hurricane saw their comeback bid fall short [18-25, 25-13, 25-22, 23-25, 17-15]. Horsfall became the third Golden Hurricane ever to eclipse 2,000+ career digs at TU. For SMU, the win would be the start of a seven-game winning streak.

The Mustangs have lost two of their last three matches, but the two losses came against Cincinnati and UCF, the top two teams in the conference standings. SMU leads Tulsa, 28-19, in the all-time series.

Friday's match against Memphis is Tulsa's Alzheimer's Awareness match. A booth will be set up where fans can learn more about the disease. It's also VOGO BOGO night. If the Golden Hurricane win, fans will receive a voucher for a buy one get one ticket to the UCF football game that evening at 6 p.m. Fans who already have a UCF football ticket will receive free entry to the Memphis match.

Sunday's contest will be Tulsa's Senior Day, as the Golden Hurricane recognize three seniors who have made their mark on TU volleyball. Defensive specialist/libero Taylor Horsfall, setter Mariah Pardo, and opposite hitter Maddie Rhoder will each be recognized before the match. Additionally, the TU band will be in attendance.

Fans who also bring a new or gently used coat for Trav's Coats for Kids will receive free entry to Sunday's contest vs. SMU.

Fans unable to attend Tulsa home matches in person can watch the Golden Hurricane live on TulsaHurricane.com/watch. There is a 24HR Pass, a Monthly Pass, and Yearly Pass that allows you to watch all TU home men's and women's soccer, volleyball, and softball games depending on the package purchased.

To keep up with the latest news, Tulsa volleyball, visit TulsaHurricane.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Tulsa to Play Final Home Matches of Regular Season vs. Memphis, SMU

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Horsfall

Mariah Pardo

Maddie Rhoder