Tulane University
Rice
Volleyball Drops Four-Set Decision at Rice
Sep 23, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2011
Box Score (PDF) | Season Statistics (PDF)
NEW ORLEANS - It was not the way the Tulane volleyball team wanted to start their Conference USA seasons, but Rice literally blocked any chance of collecting a win on the road for the Green Wave. The Owls collected 15 blocks and limited Tulane's offense to just a .113 hitting percentage on the evening. The Green Wave dropped their Conference USA opener by scores of 22-25, 19-25, 26-24, 22-25 at Tudor Fieldhouse on Friday evening.
"We followed our game plan at certain points, but not all the time tonight," said Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic. "They were playing very fast offensively and we were not able to stop it, at times. They kept pressure on our block and out-hit us with their fast paced offense. Our offense was streaky and we could not get any of our hitters going at the same time. We fought until the end, but were not able to put the ball away when we needed to."
The Owls (6-7, 1-1 C-USA) took the opening two sets, in two total separate ways, and grabbed a commanding lead in the match. Rice led throughout the opening set, building an early 7-3 lead against the Green Wave and eventually pushed their lead to seven points at 16-9 on a Mariah Riddlesprigger kill. Tulane would not go down easily, however, and outscored the Owls 12-6 down the stretch to pull within one point at 22-21. Rice would claim three of the final four points in the set, including another Riddlesprigger kill to end the frame, and posted a 25-22 win to start things off.
Tulane (5-7, 0-1 C-USA) was in control of the second set and raced out to a 7-2 advantage when Anna Wruck recorded her second kill of the set. A ball handling error by the Rice setter made the score 11-5 later in the set to give the Green Wave their largest lead of the frame. From that point, Rice would out-score the Olive and Blue 20-8 and coast to a 25-19 victory in the second set.
The third set was close throughout and the Owls held the lead for most of the set, but never could shake the Green Wave. Tulane tied the set five different times before taking the first lead of the frame at 19-18 on a block by Wruck and Izabela Grot. A service error by TU tied the match at 19-19, but Grot tallied three consecutive kills to push the visitors ahead, 22-19. The Owls would rally again to knot the match at 23-23 and eventually grabbed a 24-23 advantage, but two kills from Cori Martone and a spike from Grace Weaver enabled Tulane to take the set 26-24.
The fourth set was dominated by Rice in the early going and the Green Wave couldn't rebound from the slow start. The Owls raced out to a 14-6 lead, before Tulane tallied four straight points to make it a 14-10 contest. The Olive and Blue would get no closer than two points the rest of the set and Rice grabbed the set, 25-22, and in turn won the match three sets to one.
"(Izabela) really showed the type of leadership tonight that we need from her," Momic said. "Tonight she was the only hitter that was having success and we just needed someone else to step up. Nikki had a really good match, too, and has a lot of heart. She would not let our team stop pushing, but we needed to get some plays from some other players. To be able to play on a high level we have to be more consistent at what we are doing all around."
The offense was paced by Grot, Azarri Badawi and Milica Jovic, who all finished with double-digit kill matches, while Nikki Osuna led all players with 30 digs. Grot ended the evening with a team-best 13 kills, Badawi had 11 kills and Jovic ended the evening with ten successful attacks. Wruck paced the squad with eight blocks - including two solo - and Jovic added seven blocks for the Green Wave blocking attack that posted 14 blocks of their own.
Tulane will continue their stay in Houston and face off with the Houston Cougars at 1:00 on Sunday, September 25.
Season tickets are still available for the 2011 volleyball season through the Tulane Ticket office for just $55 for the remainder of home schedule. Single game tickets are also being sold 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--
