Tulane University
Arizona
Learning Continues As Volleyball Drops Pair At Wildcat Classic
Sep 19, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
Tulane/Arizona Box Score In PDF Format
TUCSON, Ariz. - In what has been a constant theme through the early portion of the 2014 season, the Tulane University volleyball team showed flashes of greatness and continued to make strides with young student-athletes playing key roles, but it was not enough as the Green Wave dropped a five-set contest to UMBC and a three-set decision to host and 20th-ranked Arizona in day one of the Wildcat Classic on Friday at the McKale Center.
After dropping the opening two sets to UMBC 25-22 and 25-21, the Green Wave inserted sophomore Ally Frank at the setter position which helped the team rally to post wins 25-13 in the third set and 25-23 in the fourth to tie things up. Tulane hung tough in the fifth-and-deciding set as the score was deadlocked at 9-all after 18 serves before the Retrievers scored six of the final seven points to come away with the win.
In the nightcap, the homestanding Wildcats cruised to a 25-10 opening set win and staved off late Green Wave rallies over the final two frames to complete the sweep with 25-21 and 25-18 decisions. With the losses, Tulane fell to 1-10 on the season and will conclude play in the Wildcat Classic on Saturday against Coppin State. First serve for that contest is slated for 12:30 p.m. (CDT).
"There are positive things, but it's not been enough to win," Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic said. "We have to have everybody playing at a certain level at the same time, and we have to have players execute consistently. So far, we haven't been able to do that. We have inexperienced players at some positions, and some players are not playing their best volleyball right now. It's not something you can force. It's a tough situation to be in.
"You just have to practice every day and the players need to figure out some things on their own. We continue to get experience each day and we'll keep fighting through it. It has happened with different teams that we've had here at Tulane. We'll keep learning and keep competing the best that we can. That's all that we can do right now."
The Green Wave had a different look on Friday as Frank saw her most significant action to date and fellow sophomore Miah Diirell started her first two collegiate matches at libero. The moves helped Tulane average 11.88 kills and 11.25 assists per set compared to its opponents respective averages of 11.12 and 10.62. The difference came at the serving stripe where UMBC and Arizona combined to have 14 aces to the Green Wave's six while the two foes had 3.44 blocks per set to Tulane's 1.75.
Frank, who entered the UMBC match midway through the second set and played in all three frames against Arizona, tallied 61 assists on the day with a career-high 33 against the Retrievers and another 28 against the Wildcats. Diirell, meanwhile, paced the Green Wave defense in both matches with 23 digs against UMBC and 15 in the nightcap.
"Ally did a good job of setting up our offense and created some holes in the block," Momic added. "She ran our offense a little bit better and gave us a chance to complete. Miah also did a solid job at the libero position. Now, our focus is on Coppin State tomorrow. We have to play at a higher level against them than we did today."
Freshman right-side hitter Sarah Ray was one of three Tulane players to post double-digit kill totals against UMBC and led the squad with 18 while senior middle blocker Anna Wruck and sophomore outside hitter Annie Shurtz followed with 10 apiece. Sophomore outside hitter Tea Juric fell one kill shy of a double-double and was second to Diirell on the team with 14 digs while senior outside hitter Grace Weaver added 11.
Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Strasner led the Green Wave front-line defense with nine blocks (1 solo, 8 assists), followed by Juric with six (all assists) and Wruck with five (1 solo, 4 assists).
In the day-one finale vs. Arizona, Juric led the way offensively with 12 kills, followed by Ray with eight. Weaver finished second to Diirell defensively against the Wildcats with nine digs.
Following Saturday's match against Coppin State, the Green Wave return to action on Friday, Sept. 26 when Tulane opens play in The American Athletic Conference against Memphis at 7 p.m. in Devlin Fieldhouse. For tickets to that match, as well as future Green Wave events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. The ticket office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr., Center and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information, call (504) 861-WAVE (9283) or log onto the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
