Volleyball Ready For Kathy Trosclair Memorial Tournament
Sep 6, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2001
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team returns to action this weekend when the Green Wave hosts the annual Kathy Trosclair Memorial Tournament in Fogelman Arena.
The Green Wave (2-3) will play Coastal Carolina and Southern Methodist on Friday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, before taking on Louisiana-Monroe and San Diego State on Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tulane has won two of its last three matches, including a 3-0 sweep of Jackson State Tuesday night on the road.
"We're looking forward to getting back on the court and competing against some quality competition," head coach Betsy Becker said. "We made some early-season mistakes last week (at the 2001 Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic) and we've worked hard to rectify those situations, improve in certain areas and get better. We want to be able to go out there and play music instead of making noise."
The Green Wave's tournament slate will not be easy, and Becker's team understands what they will be up against this weekend. San Diego State enters the weekend 3-0, including a win over nationally-ranked University of San Diego, and has won two games with 3-0 sweeps. Southern Methodist, meanwhile, put up some impressive performances last week against the likes of ACC power Duke and SEC opponent Kentucky.
"San Diego State is probably the favorite going into the weekend," Becker said. "They're undefeated so far and they beat a ranked team in the University of San Diego. Southern Methodist will be stellar, and Coastal Carolina and ULM will be competitive, especially with the rally scoring format."
Junior outside hitter Britney Hurst (Baton Rouge, La.) leads Tulane with 4.65 kills per game and 3.37 digs per outing. Redshirt-freshman Anastasia Kenon (San Antonio, Texas) is second in kills with 3.00 per game, while senior middle hitter Erin Dobyanski (Alvin, Texas) is second in digs per game with a 3.06 average.
As a team, the Green Wave averages 13.84 kills per game and 16.11 digs per game while tallying 44 aces and 41.5 team blocks.
The Kathy Trosclair Memorial Classic is held annually in Fogelman Arena in honor of Tulane's all-time winningest coach. Trosclair, who tallied 174 career victories from 1981-87, led the Green Wave to six winning records, and had a pair of 30-win seasons. Her 1987 team set the school mark for wins in a season with 33, while the 1986 club set the Green Wave winning percentage record at .838 (31-6).
After this weekend's tournament, the Green Wave will take its first plane trip of the season when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind., where Tulane will take on Notre Dame, Indiana State and host Purdue in the 2001 Mortar Board Purdue Premier.
