Tulane University
Marshall
Volleyball Falls in Close Contest to Marshall
Oct 14, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 14, 2011
Box Score (PDF) | Season Statistics (PDF)
NEW ORLEANS - The saying goes `close, but no cigar', which means you had your chances, but couldn't come away with the victory in the end. On Friday evening inside Fogelman Arena, the Tulane volleyball team was competitive in all four sets, but in the end Marshall walked away with the victory by scores of 25-27, 25-19, 25-27, 23-25.
"It's been a problem throughout this year," said Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic. "We can't get a great effort at the end and have a player that will step up when it matters. We don't have a consistent go-to leader and it is hard to score when it matters for us. We can play well when things are going well, but then when the score is close, instead of somebody having that willpower and producing something, we crumble."
The opening set featured 16 ties and nine lead changes, with Tulane (6-12, 1-6 C-USA) holding the largest lead of the frame at three points, 16-13. The Green Wave were ahead by two points, with set point in their corner, but the Thundering Herd snagged victory out of the jaws of defeat by scoring five of the final six points, all five coming on Tulane errors, to claim the opener 27-25.
In the second set, the Green Wave took the lead early on a Grace Weaver kill and built a five point lead, 9-4, on another successful Weaver attack. After Marshall (4-14, 3-5 C-USA) cut the lead two points, Tulane rebound to push it back to five, with an assist from a pair of Herd missteps, but TU's 16-11 lead wasn't safe. The Thundering Herd rallied to cut the lead to just one, 16-15, benefiting from three straight Green Wave attacking errors, before the home squad would take control. Tulane scored nine of the final 13 points and knotted the match at one set apiece.
Tulane led early in the third stanza, Marshall controlled the middle portion of the match and the two teams again battled out the final ten points. The Herd built a their largest lead of the set at three points when Desirre Wilkerson connected on a kill to make it 18-15, but three straight points from Tulane, including kills from Weaver and Milena Dragovic, knotted the match at 18-18. The next seven possessions featured four ties before a Cori Martone kill and block gave Tulane a two point advantage. Marshall responded with two points, but the Green Wave eventually got to match point at 24-23. Like set one, Marshall tallied four of the final five points to walk away with the 27-25 set win.
Marshall again dominated the middle portion of the set, but the Green Wave nearly rallied from a six point deficit late in the set. With the Thundering Herd leading 19-13, Tulane began its comeback with an Izabela Grot kill. A 9-3 run pulled the home squad even at 22-22, with Tulane forcing five Herd attacking errors. The match was tied at 23-23, but Marshall scored the final two points on kills from Laura Der and Cameron Yoho to pull the match out in four sets.
"Playing well and losing is the worst thing. I would love to play ugly and win games because I have good players. But right now nobody is stepping up. They've been playing well, but well (playing well) is not going to get us anywhere because at crucial points. Lack of leadership in crucial moments to turn those around instead of winning in four, you lose in four. We just have to push through this and have someone step up when it matters."
Martone led all players with 18 kills on 50 attacks, while Grot and Weaver each chipped in eight kills for the Green Wave, but Tulane hit just .145 for the night and committed 33 attacking errors. Nikki Osuna posted a match-high 24 digs and posted a career high two kills from the libero spot. Mel Mandelbaum grabbed her third straight double-double, posting 20 assists and ten digs.
Marshall was led by Yoho's 15 kills and Wilkerson had ten, adding a match-high eight blocks. Sammie Bane handed out a match-high 46 assists.
Tulane will look to get on the winning track when they host East Carolina on Sunday, October 16 in Fogelman Arena. The Green Wave and Pirates will serve it up starting at 1:00.
Single game tickets for the remainder of the 2011 home slate are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting the Tulane Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE or visiting the Tulane Team Shop inside the James Wilson, Jr. Center between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
--www.TulaneGreenWave.com--
