Tulane University
Pepperdine
Volleyball Drops Tournament Finale Versus Pepperdine, 3-0
Aug 28, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 28, 2010
Box Score (PDF) | Season Statistics (PDF)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M - The finale of the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic ended up much like the first two matches for the Tulane volleyball team, as the Green Wave fell 3-0 to the Pepperdine Wave. Tulane finished up 0-3 at the tournament, but the young squad got some much needed court time against three opponents receiving accolades in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll.
"With such a team this young we just haven't put together a complete match yet," said head coach Sinisa Momic. "We have some players that are playing positions for the first time and this weekend we began to balance some things out and everyone is started to get on the same page. I think our team got a lot out of this weekend against some very tough competition. (The coaching staff) saw some things we needed to work on and some things that are working of our squad."
The Green Wave scored the opening point of the match on a Cori Martone kill and after two straight points from Pepperdine, a Milica Jovic kill knotted the score at 2-2. The Wave of Pepperdine rattled off seven of the next eight points to take the 9-3 lead and the Green Wave would draw no closer than four the rest of the opening frame. Of the 12 Tulane kills in the opening set, Jovic contributed five of them and Izabela Grot had four.
Pepperdine (1-2) again jumped on top early, staking to a 7-2 lead to start the second set and led by seven at 13-6. The Green Wave scored four of the next five points, with Martone collecting a kill and a service ace, to pull close at 14-10. Pepperdine, however, would limit the Green Wave offense the remainder of the set to go ahead two games to none. Martone had four kills, one service ace and a block in the second set, while two other Green Wave players tallied two.
Trailing 8-3 to start the third set, Tulane used an 8-3 run of their own to draw even at 11-11, with three kills coming from Grot and two by Martone. The two teams traded two-point spurts, but Pepperdine tallied six of the next eight points and held on to claim the third set victory and close out the match. Grot recorded six kills in the final set and Jovic added four kills.
"Izabella played well offensively in all three matches this weekend and Cori showed her potential as a middle hitter against three really good teams," Momic commented on his squad. "Amaris was solid in the serve receive portion and Lindsey Shepard had a good tournament in front of a home crowd. Mel Mandelbaum showed some maturity at the setting position this weekend and really took charge to of our offense."
Pepperdine committed only seven hitting errors in the entire match in 99 attempts, equating to a .384 hitting percentage, compared to 22 errors on 103 swings, good for a .146 hitting clip for Tulane. Grot ended the match with 11 kills and Jovic added ten kills versus the Wave of Pepperdine. Freshman setter Mel Mandelbaum handed out a career-best 22 assists and Nikki Osuna paced the team with nine digs.
The Olive and Blue (0-3) will return to the court for a full week of practice before heading north to compete in the University of Pittsburgh Invitational starting on Friday, September 3. The opening match of the tournament will feature the Green Wave versus Lipscomb starting at 4:00.
--TulaneGreenWave.com--
