Next Up: Volleyball Looks to Tighten Up Offense at SMU
Oct 7, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 7, 2011
Season Statistics | Conference USA Weekly Release
10/8/11 & 10/9/11
Tulane Green Wave at SMU Mustangs
Start Times: 2:00 (Sat.) & 2:00 (Sun.)
Arena: Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas)
Series Information: Tulane Leads 11-3
GameTracker & Live Video Available for Both Matches
Looking at the Green Wave
It has not been the start to the Conference USA season that the Green Wave was hoping for, sitting at 0-4 entering their weekend road trip to SMU. Those hopes are not dashed, however, as they will face an opponent that they have had some recent success against. Tulane will head to SMU with an 11-3 overall record versus the Mustangs, including a 5-1 record in Moody Coliseum.
Over the past four matches, the Tulane offense has four different offensive leaders and their team hitting percentage has seen its peaks and valleys. Izabela Grot (13 Kills at Rice), Azarri Badawi (14 kills at Houston), Cori Martone and Anna Wruck (18 kills each versus UAB) and Milica Jovic (eight kills against Memphis) have all led the attack during Conference USA play.
As a team, the Green Wave has had success on the attack, hitting .216 at Houston and .220 against UAB, but has seen their offense go by the wayside in their other two matches, attacking at a .113 percentage at Rice and .080 versus Memphis.
Martone continues to pace the offense with 139 kills (2.84 kills per-set) this season and ranks 18th in Conference USA in that category. The sophomore also sits among the conference leaders in hitting percentage (7th, .326), blocks per-set (T16th, 0.88) and service aces per-set (20th, 0.22). Wruck also ranks among C-USA's best in multiple categories, ranking 10th in blocks (0.98) and 18th in attacking percentage (.254).
Nikki Osuna is the lone senior on the team this season and is also the only player to post match high digs in the first four conference matches. The Bellflower, Calif. native has posted the most digs of any player in each of the first four C-USA matches, tallying 30 at Rice, 17 at Houston, 27 versus UAB and 13 against Memphis. She now ranks seventh in Conference USA in digs per-set (4.68) and has 261 total digs on the season.
Scouting the Mustangs
SMU ended Tulsa's 26-match winning streak on Wednesday evening with a 3-1 victory in Tulsa, Okla. and enter the weekend with a 6-11 overall record and 2-3 mark in C-USA. The Mustangs have the reigning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week in Jessica Oliver, who posted 20 kills in each of SMU's matches last weekend. SMU had suffered seven straight defeats until their grabbed a victory over Houston last weekend and have won two straight after claiming their match at Tulsa.
Oliver and fellow senior Dana Powell sit atop the stat sheet for the Mustangs and are both among the top-15 in C-USA in kills per-set and points per-set. Oliver is averaging 3.15 kills per-set (6th) and 3.56 in points per-set. Powell is among the top all-around players in C-USA, sitting 11th in digs per-set (3.85), 13th in kills per-set (3.15) and 14th in points per-set (3.42). The Mustangs attack ranks at the bottom of the C-USA charts, sitting tenth at .169 entering the weekend and they are allowing their opponents to attack at a .217 clip.
--TulaneGreenWave.com--
