Tulane University
LSU
Tulane Volleyball Drops LSU To Bolster NCAA Tourney Resume
Nov 24, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 24, 2007
BATON ROUGE, LA. - Fighting to prove they belong in the NCAA Tournament, the Tulane volleyball team took out the SEC West Champion LSU Tigers Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, (30-27, 31-33, 30-25, 30-24, 16-14) in five games. Tulane stared down match-point, but reeled off three-straight points to improve to 28-6 overall on the eve of the NCAA Tournament Selection announcement.
Tulane junior outside hitter Sara Radosevic turned in her first 30-kill match of the season and became Tulane's second all-time leading killer, finishing with 34 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic added 22 kills while junior right side Bridget Wells added 19.
"This is a significant win for our program for a few reasons: a top 30 RPI win at the point when we awaiting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, a hard-fought match against an in-state rival, and a great way to finish one of our best regular seasons in Tulane Volleyball history," head coach Liz Kritza said. " This team has had some tough lessons this season and tonight they were able to draw on those experiences and put together a great team effort filled with heart, and hustle, and confidence."
"We are working to be a championship program and tonight was a good example of how this young group has progressed. They stared defeat in the face and showed great confidence and overcame a five-point deficit in game five. Anyone who knows volleyball knows that is no easy feat. LSU is a formidable opponent, but our mainstays came through for us tonight. Sara played like an All-American with a season-high in kills, Bridget scored our last two kills when we needed her most, and defensively, I can not say enough of the job Rachel Lindelow did tonight. This team knew that coming into the match, we had to improve our defense and they did just that tonight with four players with 16 or more digs.
Sophomore libero Jenn Miller once again led Tulane in digs with 26, while Radosevic added 21, Lindelow 17 and Vlaskovic 16. Lindelow also recorded 32 assists, while Luna Rebrovic added 43 and eight digs.
LSU (24-7) was led by Lauren DeGirolamo and Marina Skender, who each posted 21 kills.
Tulane opened to a 10-6 lead as Radosevic picked up a pair of kills and Rebrovic and Vlaskovic added service aces. But that would be the largest lead of the game, as the Tigers clawed their way back in front off a block and kill from Brittney Johnson. The Wave reeled off three-straight points to tie the game at 18-18. Jen Linder added a pair of kills from the middle and assisted on a block with Radosevic as the Wave led 27-24. But the Tigers once again answered with three-straight points to tie the game at 27-all. However, two Radosevic kills set up game point, the LSU serve went long for a 30-28 Tulane win.
In game two, LSU grabbed an early 7-2 lead with a kill and block from Brittnee Cooper before the Wave's Amaris Genemaras stopped the run with a block. Tulane rattled off five straight points to tie the game at 15-15 on three-straight kills from Vlaskovic. The Tigers surged ahead behind Johnson, 23-20, prompting a timeout from the Wave. A block from Linder pulled the Wave to 27-26, and Tulane staved off game point twice to tie the game at 29-29. But after ties at 30 and 31, LSU pulled out the 33-31 win when Tulane's back-row attack fell wide on game point.
Vlaskovic dropped a two kills on the Tigers to help the Wave to a 5-2 lead in game three. The Wave extended the margin to 7-4 on the second kill of the season from libero Jenn Miller. After LSU trimmed the margin to 16-13, Tulane used a 4-1 run behind a block from Shepard and a kill from Linder. But the Tigers once again rallied, rattling off four-straight points to close the gap to 21-18. But Wells ripped a cross-court shot, and Radosevic placed a service ace into the corner to set up game point. The Tigers stared down game point four-straight times, highlighted by a kill on the slide from Lauren DeGirolamo, before Shepard slammed home the winner, 30-25.
The Wave darted out to a 6-1 lead in game four, as Wells and Radosevic posted two kills each. But DeGirolamo answered with two kills and an LSU block tied the game at 6-all. Back-to-back kills from Vlaskovic gave Tulane a 12-11 lead, and the Wave stretched the advantage to four, 19-15 on a kill from Radosevic. But once again, LSU answered, as Kyna Washington tied the game at 20-20 with a kill off the net, and drilled an over-pass for the lead. LSU closed with a 12-4 run to force game five behind four kills and two service aces from Washington.
In game five, LSU jumped out to a 6-1 lead, but the Wave rebounded to cut the margin to 8-6 on kills from Radosevic and a service ace from Rachel Lindelow. Tulane tied the game at 8-8 off a kill from Radosevic, but LSU's Kyna Washington chipped in a kill and Britnee Cooper a block for an 11-10 LSU lead. Tulane forced ties at 11, 12, 13 and 14, as Tulane fought off match point with a kill from Wells, and after an error by the Tigers, Wells ended it with a kill off the block.
Radosevic moved from fifth on Tulane's all-time kills list up to second, passing Kim Sentmore (1,437; 1997-2000), Deva Fowler (1.438; 2001-2004) and Brittany Hurst (1,456; 1999-2002)
The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday at 7:00 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
