Tulane University
Jacksonville State
Volleyball Downs Jacksonville State In Sugar Bowl Classic, 3-1
Sep 12, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2008
Final Stats | Quotes | Allstate Sugar Bowl Tournament Central
NEW ORLEANS - Entering Friday night's match against Jacksonville State in day one of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic, Green Wave senior Liz McGehee had never started a match and had posted just four double-digit dig performances in her college career.
When word came to the Tulane University volleyball coaching staff that everyday libero Jenn Miller suffered a stomach ailment just prior to the start of Friday's match, head coach Liz Kritza called on McGehee to don the odd-colored jersey and the senior from Lafayette responded with a career-best 22 digs as the Green Wave defeated Jacksonville State, 3-1, in Fogelman Arena.
"It was different for us playing without our starting libero, but I need to compliment Liz McGehee for the great job she did tonight," Kritza said. "She really stepped up. She found out 15 minutes before the warm-ups started that she was going to start. The libero's contact is the most important in volleyball. The position handles more of the first contacts and more of the serve receptions than anyone else.
"The more experience and game experience a libero has, usually the better she is. But I have to compliment Liz McGehee for stepping up for her team tonight. It is a good sign to know that we have players in every single position. Not only does that provide depth, but that provides competition which makes everybody better."
McGehee's defense was not enough to lift Tulane in the first set as the Gamecocks earned a 25-23 decision in the opening stanza, but the Green Wave rolled in the next three sets - 25-15, 25-17, 25-18 - to extend Tulane's home winning streak to 14. McGehee had six digs in the first set, four in the second and third stanzas and eight in the final contest to surpass her previous career high of 16 she had as a true freshman against Lafayette when she was playing at Lehigh on Oct. 14, 2005.
While McGehee was turning heads on defense, the Green Wave offense used a balanced attack to earn the four-set victory over Jacksonville State. Junior right-side hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic led all players with 14 kills while freshman outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic had 12 and senior outside hitter Sara Radosevic posted 11. Djurdjevic and Radosevic posted double-doubles with 13 and 12 digs, respectively, as did senior setter Luna Rebrovic, who tallied a team-best 24 assists to go along with 12 digs.
"One of our biggest attributes and challenges at the same time is keeping good balance in our offense," Kritza said. "When our first contact struggles, our offense automatically becomes unbalanced. You have to set more outside, high balls. In the past, we have played that type of offense. But for us to be successful for such a way that we can play against any opponent and we can replicate it night after night, we have to be able to set all three of our front-row positions. That is why we run the offense that we run."
Tulane got off to a good start in the first set as the Wave jumped out to an early 11-7 lead. Jacksonville State, however, battled back to tie the set at 14-all, and took a 16-15 lead that it would not relinquish three points later. The Gamecock lead never got higher than two points, but the mid-set JSU rally was enough to give the visiting club a 1-0 advantage in the match.
From there, however, it was all Tulane. The Green Wave sprinted out of the gates in the second set with a 12-5 rally to open the stanza and never looked back. The lead grew to as many as 12 at 23-11 and the home team cruised to a 10-point victory to even the match at one set apiece.
The third set was a back-and-forth contest most of the way as the teams essentially traded the first 26 points of the contest. But with the score knotted at 13-13, Tulane outscored Jacksonville State 12-4 the rest of the way to take a two-sets-to-one advantage.
It was a similar scenario in the fourth set as the teams played point-for-point over the first 32 serves of the stanza. And just like in set three, Tulane turned a tied ballgame (16-16) into a Green Wave runaway with a 9-2 run to end the set to clinch the victory.
"I think the difference was just settling in because we were home and we have to be the dominant team," McGehee said. "The first game was just kind of getting used to the crowd. It was great having everybody out here. We've been in big crowds before, but they weren't for us. Tonight, the crowd wasn't for Cal Poly or for BYU. It was out game. It wasn't for anybody else and we tried to play that way."
Caitlin Vorbeck led Jacksonville State with 10 kills while Lauren Harkins posted a match-high 18 kills to lead the Gamecock defense. Broke Schumacher led all players with 36 assists while JSU's Jennifer Williams tied Tulane sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Shepard for match-high block honors with four each.
"I think we played a very powerful team. In serving, they were very aggressive," Jacksonville State head coach Rick Nold said. "The thing I was happy with is that even when we got down, we kept fighting. I don't think we ever let down, but (Tulane) didn't either. They are a solid team and that's sort of what happens. We're not disappointed with the games. I think if all of the sudden the other team is playing well and you back away, then that's a different story. Tonight, we just got beat by a better team."
The Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Sept. 13, when they open day two of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic with an 11 a.m. meeting with North Dakota State. Tulane also takes on Maryland in the tournament finale at 8 p.m.
Tulane University faculty and staff members, along with their immediate families, will receive a free ticket to both Saturday contests with a valid Tulane faculty/staff/student identification card. In addition, any fan with a ticket stub from the Tulane/East Carolina football game will be admitted to Saturday night's Tulane/Maryland match for half price.
For additional ticket information, or for tickets to any future Green Wave home athletic event, contact the Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.
2008 ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL CLASSIC SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Friday, Sept. 12
Match 1 - Jacksonville State def. Louisiana Tech, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20)
Match 2 - North Dakota State def. Maryland, 3-1 (27-25, 25-27, 25-16, 25-16)
Match 3 - Tulane def. Jacksonville State, 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-18)
Saturday, Sept. 13
Match 4 - Tulane vs. North Dakota State, 11 a.m.
Match 5 - Maryland vs. Jacksonville State, 2 p.m.
Match 6 - Louisiana Tech vs. North Dakota State, 5 p.m.
Match 7 - Tulane vs. Maryland, 8 p.m.
Home Team Listed First; All Times Central And Subject To Change
