Sand Volleyball To Wrap Regular Season In Birmingham
Apr 25, 2014 | Women's Beach Volleyball
April 25, 2014
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University sand volleyball team will wrap up the 2014 regular season over the weekend when the Green Wave travel to Birmingham, Ala., for matches against Georgia State, ULM and host UAB at the UAB Sand Courts.
At 6-6 on the year in dual-match action and fresh off a 3-2 win over LSU back on April 19 in Baton Rouge, La., the Green Wave will look to finish the year with a winning record for a second consecutive season after going 9-4 and finishing No. 10 in the final AVCA Poll in 2013. Tulane will play Georgia State on Saturday at 1 p.m. before taking on ULM and UAB on Sunday at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
Sophomore Courtney Liddle and junior Olivia Utt are second on the squad with a 12-10 record (6-6 dual/6-4 pairs) while freshman Hannah Holmes and junior Anna Wruck are next at 11-9 (6-5 dual/5-4 pairs).
Georgia State heads to Birmingham 13-4 on the year, ranked No. 10 in the most recent AVCA Poll and riding the crest of a two-match winning streak after defeating South Carolina, 4-1, on April 6 and downing Stetson, 3-2, on April 11 at the Fiesta at Siesta Key. Jansen Button and Sara Olivova lead the Panthers with a 22-8 record while Milani Pickering are next at 16-9.
ULM enters the weekend 5-9 overall and winners of its last three contests. The Warhawks' streak began against UAB on April 3, 3-2, before downing Tulane 3-2 on April 8 and most recently beating LSU on April 16. Zuzana Markova and Marcela Araya headline the unit with a 15-4 pairs record with the duo of Michelle McNamee and Hadley Swartz are next with a mark of 7-10.
UAB, meanwhile, sports a 4-8 mark with its last win being a 3-2 decision over the Green Wave on April 19 in Baton Rouge. The Blazers' teams of Bethanie Thomas and Kiriana Hirini along with Sara Rischell and Rachel Fairbanks share the lead with 11 wins each.
While this weekend's events mark the final team competitions for the Green Wave, the season will continue for Juric and Wegner as the tandem was one of 10 doubles teams identified as "The Best of the Rest" from programs not included in the team portion of the championship tournament. The AVCA College Sand Volleyball National Championship will take place from May 2-4 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
