Nov. 5, 2007

IRVING, Texas - Conference USA's 12 volleyball programs are set for the final weekend of regular season action. C-USA leader Marshall sports a 13-1 league record (20-8 overall) but must face UAB, winners of 16 of its last 18 matches, and a hot Memphis team on the road before claiming the regular season title. Tulane currently sits in second place at 13-2 and host UTEP (9-18, 3-12 C-USA) Friday for its final C-USA match. UAB is in sole possession of third at 11-3, while Tulsa and Memphis are tied for fourth with identical 10-4 records. TU defeated Memphis Sunday, 3-1.

Currently five conference teams have earned 20-plus wins, lead by Tulane's 25 victories and Tulsa's 23. Five ties for the second-most teams with 20-or-more wins in a single season. In 2003 and 1998, six C-USA volleyball programs ended the season with 20-or-more wins.

With a win over UTEP Friday night, Tulane will end its home schedule with a flawless record of 12-0. The Green Wave will become the first conference team to sports a perfect home record since Marshall did so in 2005 (9-0) and Louisville in 2004 (16-0).

C-USA VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK & STATISTICS: Nov. 5, 2007

UPCOMING MATCHES (ALL TIMES CT)

Fri., Nov. 9
*UTEP at Tulane, 5 p.m.
*Southern Miss at UCF, 6 p.m.
*East Carolina at Memphis, 7 p.m.
*SMU at Houston, 7 p.m.
*Marshall at UAB, 7 p.m.
*Tulsa at Rice, 7 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 10
*SMU at Rice, 7 p.m.

Sun., Nov. 11
*East Carolina at UAB, 1 p.m.
*Tulsa at Houston, 1 p.m.
*Marshall at Memphis, 1 p.m.
*UCF at Southern Miss, 1 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 23
UAB at Middle Tennessee State, 7 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 24
Tulane at LSU, 7 p.m.

* denotes C-USA matches.

TEAM CAPSULES

EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (15-14, 6-8 C-USA) won its final home match of the season, defeating Southern Miss 3-0. Senior Kelley Wernert combined with sophomore Melissa Zentner to provide 30 of ECU's 48 kills. Sophomore Hannah Fenker was the top defensive contributor as she notched 10 digs. Freshman Katie Koop had another strong performance, dishing out 41 assists. East Carolina will close the regular season with a pair of C-USA road matches at Memphis Friday and UAB on Sunday.

HOUSTON
Junior OH Justine Farmer and freshman DS Amanda Carson had 14 kills and 13 digs, respectively, as Houston dropped a 3-0 match at Tulane Sunday. Earlier this season, Houston notched a 3-0 over the Green Wave in Houston. In that victory, Farmer had 20 kills and 13 digs while freshman Hannah Sullivan added 15 kills and eight digs. Houston returns home for its final matches of the regular season this weekend. The Cougars will play SMU on Friday and Tulsa on Saturday.

MARSHALL
Senior OH Kelly-Anne Billingy tallied 14 kills and hit .394 for the match to help lift the Herd to a sweep over UCF Sunday. With the victory, Marshall (20-8, 13-1 C-USA) wins its seventh-straight and 14 of its last 15 matches. It also marks the sixth consecutive season the team reached 20-plus-wins. Senior OH Stephanie Cahill tallied her 17th double-double of the year with 11 kills and 10 digs. MU will face UAB and Memphis to conclude the 2007 season this weekend.

MEMPHIS
C-USA Defensive Player of the Week and freshman L Christine Bach followed a record-setting performance of 35 digs Friday with with a match-best 22 digs Sunday, but Memphis (21-10, 10-4 C-USA) dropped a 3-1 loss to Tulsa. The loss snaps Memphis' five-straight C-USA win streak. Ashley Liford and Sarah Bury produced double-doubles for the second-straight match. Liford cranked out 18 kills and made 11 digs, while Bury terminated 13 balls and added 17 digs. Senior Shelby Burton pounded out 12 kills and hit .333. The Tigers will host East Carolina on Friday and Marshall on Sunday.

RICE
With another balanced offensive attack, Rice (11-15, 6-8 C-USA) swept UTEP Sunday afternoon in El Paso. Sophomore Natalie Bogan led the attack with 11 kills while junior Karyn Morgan added 10. Senior Yvette Kirk became Rice's all-time dig leader with 1,395 total. Also with 40 digs over the weekend, freshman Tracey Lam now ranks No. 6 on the team's single season leader board with 405. Rice hosts Tulsa on Friday and SMU on Saturday to conclude regular season play.

SMU
SMU (15-13, 5-9 C-USA) dropped its final home game of the season Sunday to UAB, 3-0. Senior co-captain Caitlin Rainbird and senior S Madison Hill each recorded double-doubles in the match. Rainbird tallied 10 kills and 12 digs, while Hill had 28 assists and 14 digs. The Mustangs are on the road this weekend for the final week of regular season play. Friday, the Mustangs will take on Houston, followed by a match at Rice Saturday.

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss (10-20, 1-13 C-USA) closed out its road swing, losing to East Carolina 3-0. Angela Hlavaty led the Eagles with 17 kills, followed by Morgan Johnson with 10 kills and five blocks. Southern Miss returns to action next weekend, playing UCF in back-to-back matches. The Eagles travel to UCF on Friday, then return home for senior day while hosting UCF on Sunday in the season finale.

TULANE
Tulane (25-5, 13-2 C-USA) extended its win streak to a season-best eight matches, avenging its last loss to Houston with an assertive 3-0 sweep of the Cougars Sunday at Fogelman Arena to remain unbeaten at home. Tulane set a season-high with 13 blocks in three games.Sophomore OH Ksenija Vlaskovic led the team with 12 kills, while junior OH Sara Radosevic, 11, and junior RS Bridget Wells, 10, were right behind. The Green Wave are a perfect 11-0 at Fogelman Arena and have won 12-straight at home, the second longest streak in school history and is five shy of the school record. Tulane will hosts UTEP in the final regular season and home match Friday.

TULSA
Tulsa (23-7, 10-4 C-USA) got senior leadership when it counted most on Sunday. In a must-win situation for the Golden Hurricane, senior Fabiola Nepomuceno and Julia Silva shined in a 3-1 win over Memphis. Nepomuceno led TU with 15 kills and Silva posted her seventh triple-double (40A,11D,10B) of the season and 13th of her career. Tulsa will hit the road for its final two regular-season matches at Rice and at Houston, Friday and Sunday, respectively.

UAB
UAB junior Lilly Domingos had 11 kills on .562 hitting to help lead UAB to a 3-0 victory at SMU Sunday. UAB (21-7, 11-3 C-USA) has won four-straight and 13 of their last 14 matches. Junior Aleksandra Vujovic finished with 14 kills and 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. UAB's Vujovic and Nevena Stefanov were named the league's Offensive and Setter of the week, respectively. The Blazers return home for their final home weekend, hosting C-USA leader Marshall on Friday and East Carolina on Sunday.

UCF
Despite a double-double from sophomore OH Erin Campbell, UCF (9-20, 0-14 C-USA) dropped a 3-0 match at Marshall on Sunday. Campbell totaled 15 kills and 16 digs. Freshman S Blaire Brueggemeyer recorded 32 assists for the Knights and freshman DS Kristin Petrasic added 15 digs. The Knights will play their home regular-season finale on Friday, hosting Southern Miss.

UTEP
UTEP (9-18, 3-12 C-USA) fell 3-0 to Rice on Sunday, the Miners' final home match of the season. Amy Sanders was the only Miner to notch double-figure kills with 12 while recording 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. UTEP seniors, Christie Murphy and Megan Maynard, were honored before the match. Murphy ended the match with seven kills, five assists and nine digs and Maynard made her only appearance of the season, serving the first match point. The Miners play Tulane on Friday in New Orleans, La., in what will be their final match of the regular season.