Volleyball To Battle Louisville, Cincinnati Over Weekend
Oct 28, 2004 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 28, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team will have a new look over the weekend when the Green Wave play host to Conference USA foes Louisville and Cincinnati at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively, at Fogelman Arena.
When junior setter Katie Case was lost for the year with a knee injury sustained in Tulane's five-game win over UNO last Tuesday, the Green Wave went on the road with junior Kelli Dickson moving from libero to setter, and true freshman Lindsey Karlin taking over as the starting libero. This weekend, rookie Brittany Esser - a walk-on from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in Altadena, Calif. - will take over at setter, and Dickson will resume her duties as the team's primary passer and defensive specialist.
"Brittany came to us as a walk on, and she has been one of those pleasant surprises coaches love to have," head coach Betsy Becker said. "She had very good numbers in high school, and she has been productive in our practices all year long. We've had to adjust our lineup because of Katie's injury, but I feel confident that Brittany will run an efficient offense."
The Green Wave will not have an easy time adjusting to the new rotation, however, as the weekend's opponents are quality teams. Louisville comes into Friday night's match 18-2 overall, a perfect 8-0 in conference play and ranked 21st in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Cincinnati, meanwhile, enters the weekend 16-8 on the year and 6-2 in C-USA action.
"Louisville and Cincinnati have combined to win the last six Conference USA titles and have been to a combined 15 NCAA Tournaments over the past nine years, so we'll have to get off to a good start and play hard throughout both matches," Becker said. "This is an opportunity for us to play against two of the top teams in the conference, and I think the team is up for the challenge. We know it won't be easy, but we had a good week of practice and will be ready for the weekend."
Tulane enters the weekend 13-5 overall and 4-3 in C-USA play. As a team, the Green Wave is averaging 15.68 kills, 17.06 digs and 2.67 blocks per game. Offensively, Tulane is hitting .233 with 998 kills and 398 errors in 2,530 attempts, while the defense has held opponents to a .153 clip (849-460-2,537).
Senior outside hitter Anastasia Kenon leads the team with 4.09 kills per game, and senior middle blocker Deva Fowler paces the squad in total kills, total blocks and blocks per game with totals of 230, 87 and 1.40, respectively. Dickson headlines the back-row defense with 4.23 digs per outing, while senior outside hitter Lindsey Norman chips in with 3.12 per outing.
Esser, who will start her first career match Friday night vs. Louisville, has averaged 10.50 assists per game while adding 11 kills and nine digs in six games of action. As a prepster, she earned All-Mission League and Glendale News-Press All-Area first-team honors as a junior and senior, and helped lead the Tologs to a pair of league titles and appearances in the California Interscholastic Federation finals and state quarterfinals.
For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE. Volleyball fans that can not make it to Fogelman Arena over the weekend can follow all the action live on the internet via GameTracker at the official website of Tulane Athletics - www.tulanegreenwave.com.
