Tulane University
USF
Road Woes Continue As Volleyball Falls At USF, 3-2
Oct 4, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Tulane/USF Box Score In PDF Format 
TAMPA, Florida - For a brief moment, the Tulane University volleyball team were on the verge of breaking their drought of winning on the road. Host and American Athletic Conference foe USF, however, had other ideas as the Bulls rallied to send the Green Wave away with a five-set loss on Sunday afternoon at The Corral.
Tulane took the opening two sets by identical scores of 25-19 only to see USF answer with consecutive wins of 25-21, 25-16 and 15-11. A big reason for the reversal of fortunes came when the Bulls shifted from a 5-1 offense to a two-setter system for the final three stanzas. The Green Wave held USF to a .153 attack percentage with 27 kills and 16 errors in 72 swings during the two sets Tulane won, but the change in offenses helped the Bulls connect at a .403 clip the rest of the way with 39 kills and just eight miscues in 77 total attacks.
In defeat the Wave fell to 7-9 on the year and 1-3 in league play while remaining winless on an opponent's home court so far in 2015. The Bulls, meanwhile, improved to 5-11 overall and 2-2 in conference action.
"We were in control during the first two sets," Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic said, "but then USF made some changes, started pressuring us and passed much better, and I don't think we responded well. After playing so really well in the first two sets, which was very encouraging to see, we need to learn how to respond when an opponent is earning their points and playing better.
"We should have responded much better after being two [sets] up, and our challenge is to keep playing on a high level throughout a match -- especially when an opponent responds and raises their level of play. Our energy got lost and we started making errors on our side instead of fighting back. That was the difference in today's match and it definitely changed the outcome."
With the match tied at two sets apiece, USF scored the first two points of the final stanza and jumped out to an early 5-2 lead. Tulane answered with a 3-0 run to tie the set, and the two teams sat deadlocked at 9-9 eight serves later. A kill by the Bulls' Dakota Hampton, however, broke the tie and USF never trailed again. The Green Wave kept things interesting and trailed by just one at 11-10 only to see USF go on a 4-1 run the rest of the way to come out on top.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Ray led the Green Wave offensively with 14 kills and completed a double-double with 11 digs. Fellow outside hitter Tea Juric posted a double-double of her own with 13 kills and 11 digs, and freshman libero Lisa Mordell paced the Tulane defense with 13 digs. Rookie setter Elizabeth Hurring -- who split time at the position with junior Ally Frank -- had 26 of the Wave's 46 assists, and freshman middle blocker Dayna Kern paced the front-line unit with nine stuffs (1 solo, 8 assists).
Tulane got off to a rocky start as USF scored the first three points of the match before the Green Wave rattled off four straight points and settled in. The two teams traded points over the next 19 serves and sat tied at 13-all, but Tulane used a 4-0 run to spark a 9-3 rally and take a 21-16 lead it would not relinquish en route to a six-point win.
It was a similar situation in the second set as Tulane and USF were deadlocked at 7-7 before the Green Wave made an outcome-deciding run. The Wave used a 5-0 run to break the tie and later added a 4-0 run to turn a 19-14 lead into a nine-point advantage. The Bulls cut the lead to five at five twice, but could get no closer as Tulane won the set by a half dozen.
The two teams once again traded points early in the third set before the Bulls broke a 10-10 tie with a 3-0 run and never trailed again. The USF swelled to as many as six on two occasions and Tulane cut the deficit to three at 23-20 and 24-21 but could get no closer. The fourth set followed the same script as Tulane and USF were tied at 12-all midway through the period before the Bulls rattled off six-straight points and cruised to a nine-point victory to set up the fifth-and-final frame.
Hampton and Elyse Panick shared match-high kill honors for USF with 18 each, and Hampton completed a double-double with 10 digs. Molly Burkhardt led the Bulls with 35 assists while Alex Mendoza came off the bench to tally 20 helpers. Eylse Devlin led all players with 15 digs and Alexus Heidelberg was close behind for USF with 12. Joli Holland led the Bulls defense with five blocks (3 solo, 2 assists)
Tulane returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 7, when the Green Wave play host to American foe Houston at 7 p.m. inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse. From there, Tulane will head to Greenville, North Carolina, for an Oct. 9 showdown at East Carolina before returning home to face Cincinnati and Memphis on Oct. 16 and 18, respectively.
Single-match tickets to all Tulane home volleyball events are available through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at prices of $6 for adults and $4 for youths (ages 3-12) per contest. Tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE (9283).
