Tulane University
East Carolina
Volleyball Sweeps Way to Win at ECU
Nov 21, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2010
Box Score (PDF) | Season Statistics (PDF)
NEW ORLEANS - In their final road match of the season, the Tulane volleyball team grabbed a 3-0 decision over East Carolina at Minges Coliseum on Sunday (Nov. 21). Two Green Wave players posted double-digit kills, with Izabela Grot leading the way with 11, and three players reached double figures in kills to guide Tulane to their fourth straight road victory by scores of 25-18, 25-20, 25-20.
"We started slow in each set, but figured out what we needed to do to close out the wins," said Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic. "Cori really stepped up in her hitting and blocking. This was a good trip for our team. We trailed early on in each set, but kept the deficit close and just found a way to make plays when we needed them. It is great to see our team playing well at the end of the season and really see the strides we have made as a team. We didn't hit as well as we did on Friday, but we found a way to control the match and get the win."
East Carolina (1-29, 0-18 C-USA) led for most of the first set, grabbing an early 5-2 edge when Tulane setter Mel Mandelbaum was whistled for a ball handling error. The lead would be stretched to as many as four points when Britney Roper connected on a kill to make it 13-9 in favor of the home team. Tulane would score seven of the next ten points to tie the set at 16-16 and eventually close the match on a kill from Amaris Genemaras. The final stretch of the first set was all Olive and Blue, with Tulane scoring 16 of the final 21 points to take a 1-0 lead.
Tulane, who improved to 12-19 overall and 9-10 in Conference USA play, again fell behind early in the second set, with ECU jumping out to an early 5-1 advantage, helped by three Green Wave attacking errors. Later in the set, an error by Azarri Badawi made it an 11-8 lead for the Pirates, but a 6-0 run - which included three kills from Grot - gave the visitors the lead for good. East Carolina did tie the match at 14-14, but four straight points gave Tulane the edge back and they eventually finished off the set with a kill by Milica Jovic.
Martone and Grot each carried the Green Wave offense in the third set, with the two underclassmen accounting for four kills apiece. A 5-1 East Carolina lead was again erased by a 4-0 Green Wave run and from there it was a back-and-fourth affair between the two squads. No team held a lead of more than two points until Tulane tallied four straight points to grab an 18-14 lead. From that point, Tulane didn't trail, nor did ECU get closer than three points, while Martone and Genemaras closed things out with a block on Amanda Lutzow.
Grot paced the team with 11 kills, Martone added ten kills and eight blocks, while Jovic added eight kills and ten digs. Nikki Osuna paced all players on the defensive side of things with 16 digs a two service aces. Mandelbaum dished out 19 assists, Lilly Wolfe added 17 assists and Genemaras posted 13 digs to help the cause.
Tulane will close out their regular season on Saturday, November 27 with a contest versus Southern Miss at Fogelman Arena. It will be the final match for a pair of seniors, Lindsey Shepard and Amaris Genemaras, with Senior Day festivities taking place before the match.
--TulaneGreenWave.com--
