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Volleyball To Host C-USA Foe UTEP Wednesday Night
Nov 1, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 1, 2005
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Tulane University volleyball team returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 2, when the Green Wave play host to Conference USA foe UTEP at 7 p.m. at the G. Rollie White Coliseum on the campus of Texas A&M University.
Tulane enters the midweek showdown 2-11 on the year and 1-9 in Conference USA play. With five regular-season matches remaining on the schedule, the Green Wave will look to gain some momentum heading into the C-USA Tournament, which is slated to begin on Nov. 18 at Rice's Autry Court.
"We have an opportunity to play three of our final five matches at what has become our `home' court, and this is something we are going to have to take advantage of," first-year Tulane head coach Liz Kritza said. "UTEP is a formidable foe, and one that we will have to play well against in order to get a win.
"This team has improved every time we have played, and we have to continue to do that down the stretch. Once we get to the Conference USA Tournament, it is really anybody's to win, but we have to play well heading into that weekend in order to do that."
Defense has been the Green Wave's forté in 2005 as Tulane enters the midweek showdown ranked third in C-USA with an average 17.57 digs per game. A big reason for that is the play of senior libero Kelli Dickson, who paces the team and ranks second in conference with 5.57 digs per game.
Tulane's blocking has also improved lately as rookie middles Lauren Boatwright and Jen Linder continue to develop. Boatwright leads the squad and ranks second in C-USA with 1.22 blocks per game, while Linder adds 1.52 kills and 0.61 stuffs per outing.
Offensively, Tulane averages 14.57 kills per game and are led by freshman outside hitter Sara Radosevic, who ranks second in the league and among the NCAA's Top 20 with 5.00 kills per outing. Right-side hitters Sara Thorson and Blair Moon combine to average 5.76 kills per game, and rookie outside Bridget Wells adds 2.37 per contest.
Freshman setter Luna Rebrovic continues to improve her decision making as the season progresses and ranks fourth in the conference with 12.16 assists per game.
UTEP, meanwhile, enters Wednesday night's showdown 15-9 overall and 5-6 in conference play. As a team, the Miners average 14.87 kills, 13.11 assists, 1.98 service aces, 15.97 digs and 2.20 blocks per game.
Kari Stacy paces UTEP with 4.47 kills per game, which ranks sixth in Conference USA, while Brooke Peugh is next on the squad with a 3.04 average. Brittany Stowers paces the Miners' defense with 4.78 digs per outing, and Peugh tops the club with 1.02 blocks per stanza.
Earlier this season, UTEP defeated Tulane, 3-0, but the Green Wave lost the final two games by a combined five points. In that match, Thorson and Moon tied for the Green Wave lead with 10 kills each while Thorson paced the club with eight digs. Stacy and Peugh had 14 and 12 kills, respectively, for UTEP, while Stowers posted a match-high 13 digs.
Wednesday's match against UTEP is the first of three contests the Green Wave will play over a five-day span as Tulane hits the road over the weekend for C-USA matches at UAB and Memphis on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Following those two road matches, the Green Wave close out the regular season the following weekend with "home" contests against league foes Tulsa (Nov. 11) and SMU (Nov. 13).
Admission to Tulane "home" matches at White Coliseum is free, but a donation box will be at the main ticket window for anyone wishing to make a monetary contribution to the Tulane Athletic Department. Fans not able to make the trip to College Station can follow the action live on the internet via GameTracker on the official website of Tulane Athletics, www.tulanegreenwave.com.
