Tulane University
Houston
Volleyball Falls To Conference USA Foe Houston, 3-0
Oct 13, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2006
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Outside hitters Sara Radosevic and Ksenija Vlaskovic postd 14 kills apiece and rookie libero Jenn Miller tallied a match-best 19 kills, but it was not enough as the Tulane University volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Conference USA foe Houston Friday evening at Fogelman Arena.
Tulane, which dropped a three-game match to the Cougars just two weeks ago in Houston, appeared to be headed to its first single-game win as the Green Wave led 29-26 in game one. Houston, however, stormed back with a 4-0 rally to take a 30-29 advantage. Tulane staved off game point three times, but the Cougars won the opening stanza, 33-31.
With momentum firmly entrenched on Houston's side of the court, the Cougars easily won the remaining two games 30-17 and 30-26. The loss snapped a six-match home winning streak for the Green Wave to start the 2006 season as Tulane fell to 9-7 overall and 5-2 in C-USA play. Houston, meanwhile, improved to 14-9 on the year and 5-3 in league action.
"If you let game one slip away like that, you've got to find a way to bounce back," Tulane head coach Liz Kritza said. "We've had a good season so far, and tonight's hurts a little, but we'll get back to work tomorrow and get ready for another quality conference opponent on Sunday in Rice.
"Houston seems to have our number. They did a great job tonight. They were able to neutralize one of our best players in Sara Radosevic. That being said, one match does not define a player's season. Sara will no doubt bounce back, and so will our team."
The Cougars held the Green Wave to a .093 attack percentage, and a large reason for that was Houston's 16.0 team blocks. Erin Rice paced the Cougars with 14 blocks, including three solo stuffs, while Kelly McAnelly followed with five block assists.
Houston's offense, meanwhile, connected at a .202 clip with 44 kills and just 19 errors in 124 swings. The Cougars' Justine Farmer lead al players with 16 kills and Sunshine Misa-Uli was next for the Cougars with 11 kills. Farmer posted a double-double with a team-best 12 digs, and Lauren Dobbs was close behind defensively with 11 digs of her own.
After the Cougar comeback in game one, the two teams traded the first eight points of the game before Houston used a 10-4 run to take control of the contest. The Cougars continued to stretch the lead throughout the stanza, using 4-0 and 6-0 runs to cruise to a 13-point victory.
Tulane jumped out to a 7-4 lead early in game three, but Cougars came right back with a 5-2 run to tie the game at 9-all. The Green Wave reclaimed a brief 11-9 advantage, but Houston answered with an 11-4 run to take a 20-15 lead and never looked back.
"Losing game one when we were ahead was the big difference in tonight's match," Kritza said. "But the key thing for us tonight, and it's something we'll learn from, is that a well-run system is better then any individual performance."
The Green Wave return to action on Sunday, Oct. 15, when Tulane takes on C-USA foe Rice at 1 p.m. at Fogelman Arena. Single-match tickets for the 2006 season are currently for sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. The ticket office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets can be purchased in person, via the telephone at (504) 861-WAVE or via the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
