Tulane University
UConn
Volleyball Falls In Season Finale At UConn, 3-0
Nov 28, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
Tulane/UConn Box Score In PDF Format 
STORRS, Conn. - Sophomore outside hitter Tea Juric tallied a match-high 13 kills and sophomore setter Ally Frank posted a double-double with 11 assists and 10 digs, but it was not enough as the Tulane University volleyball team dropped a 3-0 season-finale decision to UConn on Friday evening at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
The Green Wave held the Huskies to a .178 attack percentage with 42 kills and 21 errors in 118 attempts but managed to hit just .078 themselves after logging 27 kills and 18 errors in 115 swings in the 25-14, 25-20, 25-21 defeat. With the loss, Tulane concludes the 2014 season 5-27 overall and 3-17 in American Athletic Conference action. UConn, meanwhile, improved to 12-19 on the year and 5-15 in league play.
"Obviously, this whole season was something we didn't expect and we've been trying to figure out a way to play with more belief in ourselves," Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic said. "From the start, that was a struggle and we tried to deal with that every match. This was a young team that lost its confidence early in the season and couldn't find our way back.
"Sometimes you can learn more from difficult things like this year than when things are going well. We need to understand how to play well individual, and bring the program back to where it could be. I really like the talent that we have and this match was kind of a continuation of het whole season. We're insufficient in certain things and we are talented in other things. Now, it's up to us on how we rebound from this and learn from it."
Juric was the lone Tulane student-athlete to post double-digit kill totals while freshman Sarah Ray added eight to go with seven digs, two block assists and a service ace. Sophomore setter Lauren Etta finished second to Frank on the team in assists with eight and sophomore libero Makenzie Frieden led the Green Wave defense with 15 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Strasner paced the team with five blocks (1 solo, 4 assists) while senior middle blocker Anna Wruck and sophomore right-side hitter Annie Shurtz chipped in with four ad three, respectively. Ray, Frank, junior outside hitter Amy Lanskie and senior defensive specialist Grace Weaver, meanwhile, each tallied a service ace.
The two teams split the first four points of the match before UConn rattled off five in a row to take a 7-2 lead it would not relinquish. The Green Wave got within one at 9-8 and a pair at 13-11 only to see the Huskies respond each time with four consecutive points a 12-3 rally of the final 15 serves, respectively, to take the opening set by 11.
Tulane scored the first four points of the second set and led 5-1 but could not sustain the momentum as UConn used a 7-0 run to take an 8-5 advantage. The Huskies lead swelled to as many as seven at 21-14 and UConn held off a late Green Wave rally to win the frame by five.
It was a similar scenario in what proved to be the final set as Tulane scored the opening point and held an early 5-2 lead. The Huskies, however, scored five in a row to take a 7-5 lead. While the Green Wave never let UConn lead by more than five, Tulane could get no closer than a pair the rest of the stanza to complete the sweep.
"With so many sophomore and freshmen carrying a big load for us this year, we'll keep improving," Momic added. "I think we'll have more quality and more depth to get us through some of the key possessions that we struggled with this year - especially at the libero and setter position. For everyone who played this year, they need to learn and understand that with the people we have coming in, we can create a unit that will be much more competitive next season."
Devon Maugle led a balanced UConn attack with 10 kills followed by Kenya Cason with nine, Immanuella Anagu with eight and Hayley Cmajdalka with seven. Maugle added a natch-high 16 digs to complete a double-double, and Sage Esposito posted a double-double of her own with 16 assist and 11 digs. Cason and Brianna Datti had 12 digs each while Erika Thomas (1 solo, 2 assists) and Anagu (all assists) shared team-high blocking honors with three apiece. Rebecca Rivera led all players with 20 assists.
