Tulane University
Memphis
Volleyball Falls At Memphis, 3-1
Oct 13, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2001
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Junior outside hitter Britney Hurst and redshirt-freshman outside hitter Anastasia Kenon combined for 40 kills and 35 digs, but it was not enough as the Tulane University volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Conference USA opponent Memphis Saturday night at the Elma Roane Field House.
On a day that began with a 4:45 a.m. departure to the airport in St. Louis, Mo., for a 6:45 a.m. flight, the Green Wave got off to a slow start and never could get on track as Tulane dropped its second-straight C-USA match. Tulane began the match very sluggishly and picked up its game as the match went on, but it was too late as Memphis kept Tulane at arms length throughout the contest.
"We were flat as pancakes, and a young team can't play on empty" head coach Betsy Becker said. "You've got to give a lot of credit to Memphis because they beat us in all categories of the game. They just outplayed us. I think the trip is a variable into playing flat, but we've got to rise above those things and play our game.
"In rally scoring format, you cannot start out sluggish. Tonight, we were completely lack luster and it cost us. We get to redeem ourselves at UNO on Tuesday night, though, and we'll see what happens."
The loss drops Tulane to 12-7 on the year and 5-3 in league play. Memphis, meanwhile, improved to 14-3 overall and 5-3 in conference action.
Hurst led the team with 21 kills while Kenon was close behind with 19. Kenon led tied Memphis' Brittany Barnett for match-high dig honors with 20, while sophomore Karlyn Daly was next with 16 and Hurst tallied 15. The Green Wave defense posted 12.5 blocks, including two solos and five assists by sophomore middle hitter Lauren Jones-McClain and one solo and five assists by senior right-side hitter Erin Dobyanski.
"I'm proud of Ana and Karlyn's defense because they really thought about defense before offense," Becker said. "Britney's offensive prowess helped us win game three, but we've got to remember to play defense first.
"Their come-back in game three was remarkable, but unfortunately, we were not able to sustain that energy. I said on the bench that it takes intestinal fortitude to comeback and win a game like that, but home-court advantage came into play and Memphis was able to come away with the win."
The Green Wave got off to a rocky start in game one, falling behind 6-2. But Tulane stormed back with a 5-0 run to take the lead. It would prove to be a short-lived advantage, however, as Memphis went on a 13-4 rally, including a 6-0 run, to put the game out of reach. Tulane battled back to cut the lead to four at 25-21 with an 8-2 rally of their own, but the Tigers held on to win game one 30-25.
Things did not get any better for Tulane in game two as the Tigers once again roared out to a 6-2 lead. The lead swelled to 11-5, but this time Tulane had an answer. Behind the strong serving of sophomore outside hitter Karlyn Daly (Aurora, Colo.) the Green Wave rattled off 12 consecutive points to take a 17-11 lead, but the Tigers would not go away. Down 18-12, Memphis went on a 7-0 run to take a 19-18 lead. The teams traded points for a while, but with the score knotted at 22-all, Memphis went on an 8-2 run to close out the contest and take the game, 30-24.
Game three was a back-and-forth contest as the teams could never outdistance one from the other. With the score tied at 15-15, Memphis went on a 7-4 run to take a three-point lead. Tulane answered with a 5-0 rally, but the Tigers battled back with a 6-2 run to take a 28-26 advantage. Tulane battled back to tie the score at 28, and after facing match point on serve later, Tulane scored the final three points of the game with three straight kills from Kenon for a 31-29 victory.
It was a similar story in game four as neither team could get ahead of the other by more than two points early on. But with the score tied at 15, Memphis went on a 5-1 run to post a 19-16 advantage. After a Tulane timeout, the Green Wave was able to stop the run and cut the lead to 22-21. But, once again, Memphis would push the lead back to three at 25-22. Tulane tied the score at 25, but that was as close as the Green Wave could get as Memphis went on to win 30-26.
Adrianne Edmonds led the Tigers with a match-high 24 kills to lead five Memphis players with double-digit kill totals. Barnett led five Tigers with double-digit dig totals, followed by Amie Hamilton and Ginger Garrett with 16 each and Edmonds with 15.
The Green Wave returns to action on Tuesday when Tulane returns to the Big Easy and will take on intra-city rivals UNO at the Lakefront Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. Tulane's next home game is on Friday, Oct. 19 when the Green Wave takes on C-USA foe Marquette at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. The contest against the Eagles is the first of a two-match "Parent's Weekend" schedule for the Green Wave as Tulane will battle league foe DePaul on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.
