Tulane University
Memphis
Sweep of Memphis Pushes Win Streak to Three
Nov 12, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2010
Box Score (PDF) | Season Statistics (PDF)
NEW ORLEANS - It seemed as if Memphis was in line to copy the script from their match with the Tulane Volleyball from two weeks ago, but the Green Wave held on to their two set lead on Friday evening at Fogelman Arena and finished things off with a thrilling third set win to pick up their tenth win of the 2010 slate. After winning the first set 25-19 and taking the second by a score of 25-23, the Olive and Blue finished things off with a come-from-behind 28-26 win to claim the sweep.
"I think that Amaris and Nikki controlled the back court for us tonight," said Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic. "In the first two sets, we really went through our middles and, when they made the adjustment in the third set, we made an on-court adjustment and started going to the outside. Our service errors almost cost us one at the end, but we corrected that and got it done in the end."
In the opening set, Tulane and Memphis traded leads early on and eventually were deadlocked at 8-8 on a kill from Lindsey Shepard. The Green Wave opened up a slim lead with a quick 4-0 run, including a pair of points coming from Izabela Grot, and eventually pushed that margin to 18-11 on an attacking error from the Tigers. Memphis would get no closer than four points the rest of the way and a service error would seal the first set win for the Olive and Blue.
The second set was played close to the cuff, but Tulane led the match throughout and took the 2-0 lead with a 25-23 victory. Tulane opened the set with a 3-0 lead, thanks to a service ace from Mandelbaum and a kill from Shepard. The lead eventually reached four points, at 7-3, but Memphis would not go away, eventually tying things up at 17-17. Shepard gave Tulane the lead back with a kill and Cori Martone eventually finished things off with a kill.
Nikki Osuna was a big reason that the Green Wave were able to squeak out a narrow third set victory. While the junior didn't post any kills, she did collect 12 digs in the final set to help set up the offense and allow Grot to churn out seven kills in the finale. Tulane held the momentum early, building a four point lead twice during the early going and eventually lead 16-12. Memphis knotted the set at 16-16 and took a two-point lead at 21-19. The Tigers had set point at 24-22, but Milica Jovic knotted things up on her own with a service ace and a kill. Grot finished things off, only after Tulane staved off another set point by Memphis, as the sophomore posted a kill to give Tulane a 28-25 win.
"It was something we haven't really seen this season," said Momic. "We got down late, made some mistakes, but our players responded and fixed those mistakes. It was really great to see us playing as a unit and helping each other fight through and get a big win."
Osuna led all players with 17 digs, Martone had a match-high five blocks and Grot was tops in the match with 15 kills. As a team, Tulane hit .352 and committed only 12 errors on 108 swings, while the Green Wave posted 45 digs to just 38 for the Tigers. Shepard posted ten kills of her own, while Martone and Jovic each chipped in nine.
The Green Wave is now 10-18 overall and sit at 7-9 in Conference USA play and will take their season-long three match winning streak into their match versus UAB on Sunday afternoon at Fogelman Arena. Tulane will entertain the Blazers starting at 1:00.
--TulaneGreenWave.com--
