Tulane University
Houston
Despite Third-Set Victory, Volleyball Falls at Houston
Nov 18, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON – Tulane's volleyball team showed some grit in picking up a win down 2-0 to Houston at the Athletics/Alumni Center, but it was not enough as the Green Wave dropped the fourth set to fall to their American Athletic Conference foe, 3-1.
Tulane (9-20 overall, 3-14 The American) fell in the first two sets to the Cougars (18-11 overall, 8-9 The American), 25-22 and 25-19, respectively. The Green Wave turned things around in set three, as they picked up a 25-23 win. However, Houston bounced back after dropping their lone set on the night by ending the match with a 25-17 win in the fourth game.
"We know that our girls have the skills to compete at a high level, because we have seen it out of them before," stated Tulane volleyball head coach Sinisa Momic. "We have a lot of very talented players on our roster. But as a team, we just have not been playing well."
In the first set, things were back and forth between the Cougars and the Green Wave, as there were seven lead changes and eight tied scores throughout the action. At 20-19 with the Cougars in the lead, Houston's Brookah Palmer managed a kill before a Tulane attack error put Houston up by three. While Tulane hung around during the remainder of the action, Houston eventually closed out the set on a kill by Claire McCown.
Things were a bit different in set two, as Tulane started off strong and held an 18-14 lead at one point. Down four, Houston rattled off eight-straight points to take a 22-18 lead, and they never looked back before taking a 2-0 lead into the break.
After the intermission, Tulane came out and scored seven of the first eight points of set three. Despite a late push by the Cougars that cut things to a 23-21 score in favor of the Green Wave, Tulane held on when Houston committed a block error during set point.
While the Green Wave gained some momentum with that victory, set four was tough, as Houston led from start to finish, eventually sending Tulane to their fourth-straight loss.
Individually, junior Tea Juric paced the team in kills and digs with 13 and 21, respectively. Junior Lauren Etta notched a team-high 22 assists, while rookie Lisa Mordell posted two service aces on the night. Defensively, junior Sarah Strasner (five block assists) and freshman Dayna Kern (one solo block, four block assists) tied for the team lead in total blocks with five each.
The Green Wave will return home to close out the home portion of their schedule with a tilt against East Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 22. It will be Senior Day, and the team will honor lone senior Amy Lanski during a pre-match ceremony.
Following their final home match, Tulane will take on Memphis (Nov. 25) and Cincinnati (Nov. 27) on the road to close out the season.
Single-match tickets to all Green Wave 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 purchase by clicking HERE or by calling the Tulane Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE (9283).
