Volleyball Battles LSU Saturday in Baton Rouge
Nov 24, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 24, 2007
The Tulane volleyball team looks to fortify its at-large resume with a win at LSU Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tulane (27-6 Overall; No. 32 in the latest RPI) seeks a marquee win over the 24-6 Tigers (No. 28 in the AVCA Top 25 poll).
GAME NOTES
RPI Watch: #32 by the Rich Kern simulation (11/18)
AVCA National Ranking: #34 (11/18)
Let's Dance
Tulane seeks to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume with a win at LSU. The Tigers are No. 29 in the AVCA's national rankings and No. 28 in the RKPI.
Selection Sunday
The 64-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced tomorrow on ESPNEWS at 2:30 p.m. CT.
NCAA Tournament Tested
Tulane plays its seventh team from last year's NCAA Tournament against LSU. The Wave is 4-3 against NCAA Tournament teams thus far: wins over Florida A&M, Colorado, UAB and Stephen F. Austin while falling to No. 10 Wisconsin, Arizona State and UAB. FAMU and SFA have both already earned automatic bids to this year's tournament.
Most C-USA Wins; Highest C-USA Finish
Tulane finished with its highest Conference USA finish and win total in program history, finishing (tied for first) second, with a 14-2 record. Tulane improved upon last season's program best of 11 wins and tied for third finish. The Green Wave received a bye to the quarterfinals for the second-straight year.
All-Conference Round-Up
Five members of the Tulane volleyball team earned All Conference USA honors Wednesday, as junior outside hitter Sara Radosevic, junior right side Bridget Wells and sophomore outside Ksenija Vlaskovic earned First Team All Conference USA. Junior middle blocker Jen Linder and sophomore libero Jenn Miller earned Second Team honors. Miller was named Libero of the Year
Roll Wave Roll: 10 in a Row
Tulane entered the C-USA semifinals on a 10-match win streak, but the UAB Blazers handed the Wave their first loss since October 12 at Houston. The streak tied for the sixth-longest in school history.
Among Nation's Leaders
Tulane is ranked ninth in the NCAA in assists per game, 13th in kills per game, and 20th in hitting percentage, as of Nov. 18.
Tulane's Coach K: Co-Coach of the Year
Head coach Liz Kritza was named Conference USA co-Coach of the Year in 2007 after guiding the Wave to a 26-5 record entering the C-USA tournament. After leading Tulane through the turbulent 2005 season amid Hurricane Katrina in her first year, the Tulane volleyball alum has posted a 42-17 record the last two seasons, topping Tulane's best C-USA finishes in each year.
School Records In Jeopary: Assists First To Fall
The Green Wave set a school record for assists in a season with 1,810 thus far. Tulane's previous kills, kills per game, assists per game, and team hitting percentage marks are all on pace to fall in 2007. The Green Wave need: eight kills. Tulane's current pace of 15.74 assists per game would be a school record and a Conference USA record as well.
Miller Milestones
Jenn Miller moved into sixth all-time (1,074) in digs at Tulane. She also broke her own single-season digs record of 507, with 583 this season. The four-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week is second in C-USA in digs per game.
Climbing the Kill Charts
Junior OH Sara Radosevic is now fifth all-time at Tulane in kills (1,435). With her career 5.199 KPG, she could reach Alicia Robertson's (1991-94) career mark (1,963) in 102 games.
Slammin' Sara
Junior OH Sara Radosevic connected for a career-best .450 hitting percentage in Tulane's C-USA finale against UTEP with 21 kills on 40 attempts and just three errors.
Potent Offense
Tulane leads Conference USA in kills per game (17.05) and hitting percentage (.271). The Green Wave's margin over second place in team hitting percentage is .025, meaning Tulane could commit errors on 87 consecutive swings and still lead C-USA.
Conference Killers
Tulane's 17.69 kills per game in 16 Conference USA matches was the second most by a team in a C-USA season in the history of the conference, behind only Louisville's 17.87 mark in 2000.
Triple Threat
Tulane boasts three of the top 10 in Conference USA in kills per game: Sara Radosevic (4.81 KPG) ranks fourth, while Ksenija Vlaskovic (4.39) is seventh. Bridget Wells checks in at 10th with 3.70 KPG. In Conference USA only matches, the trio ranks second (Radosevic), sixth (Vlaskovic), and ninth (Wells). When all three reach double-figures in kills, Tulane is 20-4 with the losses coming to Loyola Marymount, Arizona State, Houston, and UAB. Radosevic sat out in one match (Tulane's 3-0 win over UL-Lafayette).
Balanced Outsides
Through 115 games in 2007, Tulane's top offensive weapons, Sara Radosevic and Ksenija Vlaskovic each have the exact same number of attempts; 1,347, which ties for third most in a single-season ever at Tulane.
Can't Go To This Wells Too Many Times
Junior right side Bridget Wells has posted double-figure kills in 24-straight matches, hitting .300 or better in 17 of her last 21. She reached career-highs with 21 kills at Memphis, and a .667 hitting percentage against McNeese State. She now ranks seventh in C-USA in hitting percentage at .324
Linder Keeps Slugging
Junior MB Jen Linder, continues to lead C-USA in hitting percentage this season at .403. She led C-USA with a .437 mark in 2006. The Green Wave are 11-1 this season when Linder has 4.0+ attempts per game. The lone loss was to #7 Wisconsin.
All's Wells When Set To Wells
Bridget Wells has found consistency this season, hitting .324 for the season including a mark of .365 in C-USA matches, the second best mark in Conference USA. She's now eighth in hitting pct in C-USA.
Ksenija's Career Match
Sophomore OH Ksenija Vlaskovic posted career-highs in kills with 25 and digs with 19, and she tied her career mark in service aces with four in Tulane's win at Tulsa on CSTV.
Wells Makes The Leap
Junior right side Bridget Wells has improved her hitting percentage by almost 200 full points from her sophomore season to junior season. With a .332 hitting percentage in 2007, Wells has moved into Tulane's top 10 all-time in hitting percentage (minimum 1,000 attacks) with .244 career mark.
Tournament Tested
Tulane has won a pair of tournaments this season; earning the championship at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic at Fogelman Arena (2-0) and the Domino's Invitational at Sam Houston State (4-0). The Green Wave placed second Crowne Plaza Phoenix Classic (2-1) to host Arizona State, and third at the Loyola Marymount LAX Classic (1-2, with losses to LMU and then #10 Wisconsin).
Next Up: NCAAs?
Tulane awaits its post-season fate with the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field. The Selection Show will air on ESPNEWS on Sunday, November 25 at 2:30 p.m. CT.
