Volleyball Ready For 2001 Healthy Choice Conference USA Tournament
Nov 14, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2001
HOUSTON, Texas -
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The Tulane University volleyball team will continue to strive for its goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament on Thursday when the Green Wave begins play in the 2001 Healthy Choice Conference USA Tournament at Hofheinz Pavilion at 6 p.m.
Tulane, 16-13 on the year and 7-9 in C-USA action, earned the No. 9 seed in the 12-team tournament, will take on eighth-seeded Memphis tomorrow night, and the winner of the annual tournament will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
"Our focal point all week has been Memphis," head coach Betsy Becker said. "We have something to prove against them. But we now have them at a neutral sight, and we're well rested and ready to go. We're all 0-0 now, and we want to learn from the 13 losses and take the momentum of our 16 wins into the first match of the conference tournament."
Thursday night's match will provide the Green Wave the opportunity to exact a bit of revenge as the Green Wave dropped a 3-1 decision to the Tigers back on Oct. 13 in Tennessee. History is on the side of Tulane, however, as the Green Wave defeated Memphis last year in the opening round of the league tournament, 15-4, 9-15, 15-5, 15-5.
"There's an old saying that 'Revenge is a dish best served cold,' Becker said. "I'm not saying that we're going to give Memphis a big meal, but it will definitely be coming straight from the refrigerator."
The Green Wave are led by outside hitters Britney Hurst and Anastasia Kenon. Hurst, a junior from Baton Rouge, La., paces the club with 4.56 kills per game and ranks second on the team in digs per contest with a 3.17 average. Kenon, a redshirt-freshman from San Antonio, Texas, leads the Green Wave defense and ranks third in the league with 3.52 digs per game, and ranks second on the team with 3.87 kills per contest.
Freshman setter Katie Case has had a solid rookie campaign and ranks eighth in C-USA with 11.73 assists per game to go along with 1.13 kills and 2.08 blocks. Also providing key leadership for Tulane is senior captain Erin Dobyanski who averages 2.19 kills, 2.53 digs and 1.02 blocks per outing, while also providing her game-tested experience to the team throughout the 2001 season.
The winner of the Tulane/Memphis match will advance to take on regular-season champion Cincinnati on Friday at 7 p.m. The tournament will continue throughout the weekend with the championship match being played on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Since the inception of Conference USA prior to the 1995 season, Tulane has qualified for the post season event each year and holds a 5-6 record in league tourney action. Tulane is 1-0 against DePaul, Marquette, South Florida and Memphis, 0-1 against Southern Miss, 0-2 against Cincinnati and 0-3 vs. Louisville.
Tulane's participation in the league tournament provides some interesting sidebars as two Green Wave players have ties to other league schools.
Kenon's father, Larry, was an All-American basketball player at then-Memphis State during the 1972-73 season when he helped the Tigers to the NCAA Championship game, earning All-Tournament honors.
Freshman right-side hitter Iman Houston, meanwhile, is very familiar with the surroundings of the 2001 Healthy Choice C-USA Tournament as her mother, Tyene, is not only an alumni of the University of Houston, but also the institutions Director of Alumni and Student Programs. The only way Tulane and Houston will face in each other in the annual post season tourney is if both teams advance to the semi-finals on Saturday at 3 p.m.
