Volleyball To Battle Marquette, DePaul In Road Weekend
Nov 4, 2004 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 4, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team will return to action over the weekend when they hit the road to take on Conference USA foes Marquette and DePaul on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Green Wave, which enter the weekend 13-7 overall and 4-5 in C-USA play, need just one win over the final four league matches to clinch a spot in the 2004 Conference USA Tournament, which is slated for Nov. 19-22 in Louisville, Ky. More importantly, Tulane will be looking to bounce back from an 0-2 showing last week when the Green Wave dropped home matches to Louisville and Cincinnati.
"We have a big opportunity in front of us, and we know what we need to do," head coach Betsy Becker said. "There are just four conference games left on the schedule, and we need to do two things. First and foremost, we have to play well and gain some momentum down the stretch. Secondly, we need to get that one win and assure ourselves of a spot in the conference tournament."
The Green Wave played their first matches of the season last week with freshman setter Brittany Esser running the show, and while Tulane came away with an 0-2 record in those contests, there were bright spots along the way. Esser ran the offense effectively, averaging 11.86 assists and 2.00 digs per game in the two matches, and the Green Wave picked up their defensive intensity along the way.
"We learned a lot about ourselves last week, and based on that, I expect the team to play well over the final two weeks of the season," Becker said. "We learned that we can challenge the top teams in our league and that if you play hard on every serve, good things are going to happen."
As a team, Tulane is averaging 15.49 kills, 16.94 digs and 2.62 blocks per game, and is hitting at a .226 clip with 1,084 kills and 451 errors in 2,807 attacks. The defense, meanwhile, is holding opponents to a .169 attack percentage with 963 kills and 488 errors in 2,804 swings.
Seniors hold the top three kill-per-game averages on the squad as outside hitter Anastasia Kenon, middle blocker Deva Fowler and outside hitter Lindsey Norman rank 1-2-3 with marks of 3.92, 3.61 and 3.10, respectively. Fowler paces the team with 1.42 blocks per game, and junior libero Kelli Dickson leads the back-row defense with 4.34 digs per outing.
Marquette enters Friday night's match 16-6 overall and have already clinched a spot in the league championship with a 6-3 C-USA record. The Golden Eagles average 16.04 kills, 16.72 digs and 2.72 blocks per game, and are led offensively by Theresa Coughlin, who averages 3.87 kills per contest. Erin Freer paces the Marquette defense with 3.89 digs per outing, and Erica Heisser leads the Golden Eagles' front-line with 1.21 blocks per game.
DePaul, which plays Southern Miss on Friday, comes into the weekend fighting for its postseason life with a 10-16 overall mark and 3-6 record in league action. The Blue Demons average 14.09 kills, 17.02 digs and 2.32 blocks per game, and Janet Goreham paces the squad with 3.51 kills and 1.38 blocks per outing. Ellen Hayes, meanwhile, leads Marquette with 4.24 digs per contest.
Following the weekend trip to Milwaukee and Chicago, Tulane closes out its home schedule with three straight matches in Fogelman Arena. The homestand begins on Tuesday, Nov. 9, when the Green Wave plays host to Jackson State at 7 p.m. before battling C-USA foes UAB and USF on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both of those contests are slated to begin at 7 p.m. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.
