Volleyball To Open Final Home Weekend Against TCU
Nov 1, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 1, 2001
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team will open its final home weekend of the 2001 season Friday evening when the Green Wave plays host to Conference USA foe TCU in Fogelman Arena.
Tulane enters the contest 15-10 overall and 6-6 in league play, while TCU comes to the Big Easy with a 6-17 overall record and a 2-9 mark in C-USA action. The Green Wave's two-match weekend marks the final contests senior standouts Erin Dobyanski and Jennifer Witte will play in the friendly confines of Fogelman Arena, as Tulane will take on league opponent Houston on Saturday at 7 p.m.
"This is our last home stand, and we need to play well on our home court and play well for our seniors," head coach Betsy Becker said. "We need to play tenacious defense and execute our offensive for Jennifer and Erin. We need to go all out for them, and if we do that, we will all achieve success as a team.
"Jennifer and Erin have watched the program go from the doldrums to one that's talked about around the conference. Jennifer is the school's all-time assists leader, and Erin has been the voice of experience on the court for our young team this year. The bottom line is that we need to take care of business at home and get some momentum in order to play well on the road the next two weekends."
Five Green Wave players rank among the Conference USA leaders in four different statistical categories, including Dobyanski who paces the team and ranks seventh in the league with 1.09 blocks per game.
Outside hitters Britney Hurst and Anastasia Kenon both rank among the league leaders in kills and digs, with Hurst leading the team with 4.68 kills per game (fifth in C-USA) and Kenon pacing Tulane with 3.56 digs per contest (second in C-USA). Kenon is second on the club and ninth in the league in kills with a 3.97 average, and Hurst is second on the team and sixth in the league with 3.32 digs per outing.
Freshmen Katie Case and Deva Fowler also rank among the league's best, with Case ranking sixth in the league with 11.88 assists per game and Fowler ranking ninth in Conference USA with 1.03 blocks per contest.
TCU, meanwhile, is led offensively by Marci King with 315 kills and a 3.62 kills-per-game average. Allison Lynch is next with 238 kills and an average of 2.74 kills per game. King also paces the Horned Frog defense with 2.78 digs per game, followed closely by Jennifer Cuca who sports a 2.11 digs-per-outing clip.
As a team, TCU is hitting .194 with 1,222 kills and 568 errors in 3,368 attempts. Defensively, the Horned Frogs allow opponents to hit a collective .215 with 1,308 kills and 566 errors in 3,447 swings.
"TCU is going to come in here spitting nails," Becker said. "We can expect an extremely competitive team with nothing to lose. They play hard every play, and we need to answer the call."
After Friday's match against the Horned Frogs, the Green Wave close out their 2001 home slate on Saturday against Houston at 7 p.m. Prior to the contest against the Cougars, Tulane will honor seniors Dobyanski and Witte for their hard work and dedication to the Green Wave program.
