Tulane University
at Saint Louis*
Volleyball Wins Conference USA Slugfest 3-2 At Saint Louis
Nov 14, 2003 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2003
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Green Wave overcame an injury scare and a scrappy foe as the Tulane University volleyball team defeated Conference USA foe Saint Louis for the first time since 1999 with a 3-2 victory over the Billikens Friday night at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center.
After trading the first two games - with Tulane winning games one and three 30-23, 30-13 and Saint Louis claiming games two and four 30-22, 30-22 - the Green Wave claimed an early two-point lead in the match-deciding stanza. The lead swelled to four at 10-6, and after the Billikens cut the lead to three on two occasions, Tulane put Saint Louis away with a 3-0 run to take the game 15-9.
"We played like the Dow Jones - up and down, up and down," head coach Betsy Becker said. "We need to remember how we played in game three. That's how we played the majority of the season, and we've got to carry that kind of play over into tomorrow night.
"This gives us some good momentum going into what will likely be the toughest match of the season tomorrow night in Memphis. We put ourselves in this position, but I think this team is up for the challenge. We just need to rise above the inconsistencies we suffered through tonight and play like we're capable of for an entire match."
Junior outside hitter Anastasia Kenon did not play in game one, but came on in the second stanza and wound up leading the Green Wave with 14 kills. The game took on an air of uncertainty in game two when junior middle blocker Deva Fowler roller her ankle and needed medical attention on the court. The Green Wave's leading hitter did not miss a single play, however, and finished the night with 12 kills and a match-high nine blocks.
Senior libero Karlyn Daly, meanwhile, tallied 23 digs to lead three Green Wave players with double-digit dig totals as junior outside hitter Lindsey Norman had 19, and Kenon tallied 13. The Green Wave defense, which tallied 13 blocks on the night, held Saint Louis to a .152 attack percentage, including .043, .000 and .062 marks in games two, three and five, respectively.
The Green Wave got off to a rough start, falling behind 12-7 before rallying back to make it 13-11. From there, the Billikens pushed their lead to seven at 18-11 which forced Tulane to call its second timeout of the stanza, but Saint Louis kept the momentum the rest of the way and cruised to a 30-23 win.
Neither team could gain control of the second stanza early on as the two teams traded the first 20 points of the contest before SLU staked claim to a 15-12 lead. From there, however, it was all Tulane as the Green Wave battled back to the score at 16-all and used a 14-6 rally to end the game en route to a 30-22 victory.
Game three was all Tulane as the Green Wave scored the first seven points of the contest and 11 of the first 12 to claim an 11-1 lead. The lead continues to swell throughout the stanza, and Tulane eventually won 30-12.
The momentum of the big win did not carry over to game four, though, as Saint Louis jumped out to an 11-6 lead early on. Tulane would cut the lead to four on several occasions, and to three twice, but could not make a run on the scrappy Billikens as SLU claimed a 30-20 decision. Alexis Cooley led the Billikens with 14 kills, and Jessica Kmitta led all players with a match-high 24 digs.
Tomorrow night's match will be a big one for both teams as the winner will claim the No. 4 seed in next week's C-USA Tournament and the first-round bye that goes with it.
