Volleyball To Host Temple, UConn Over The Weekend
Nov 5, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University volleyball team will close out a four-match homestand over the weekend when the Green Wave play host to American Athletic Conference opponents Temple on Friday, Nov. 6, and UConn on Sunday, Nov. 8, inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.
Friday's showdown with the Owls is slated to start at 7 p.m. (CST) while Sunday's contest against the Huskies will begin at 1 p.m. Live stats for both matches are available on-line at the official website of Tulane Athletics, www.TulaneGreenWave.com, via GameTracker and live video of all Tulane home matches will be streamed on the internet courtesy of the Tulane All-Access Pass. Both services are free of charge.
Junior outside hitter Tea Juric leads the Green Wave offense with 3.61 kills per set with sophomore outside Sarah Ray next at 2.95 and junior middle blocker Sarah Strasner following with a 1.77 clip. Tulane has used three setters throughout most of the 2015 campaign as freshman Elizabeth Hurring paces the squad with 7.31 assists per set followed by junior Ally Frank at 6.79 and junior Lauren Etta at 4.23. Juric headlines the squad with 22 aces, freshman libero Lisa Mordell has a team-best 3.73 digs per set and Strasner leads the front-line defense with 1.01 blocks per stanza.
Temple comes to town 17-7 on the year, 8-4 in conference play and looking to build on the momentum of a 3-1 win at Memphis on Sunday. As a team, the Owls are averaging 14.17 kills, 13.09 assists, 1.24 service aces, 14.91 digs and 2.02 blocks per set while posting a .266 attack percentage courtesy of 1,233 kills and 438 errors in 2,989 swings.
Irem Asci leads a potent Temple attack with 3.69 kills per set, followed by Tyler Davis at 2.89, Izzy Rapacz at 2.51, Kirsten Overton at 2.41 and Caroline Grattan at 2.33. Sandra Sydlik paces the Owls with 10.99 assists per set and has a team-best 25 aces. Alyssa Drachslin leads the defense with 4.84 digs per set and Overton paces the squad with 0.97 blocks per frame.
UConn, which will play at Houston on Friday night, enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the country with wins in each of its last six outings. As a team, the Huskies are averaging 12.92 kills, 12.06 assists, 1.21 service aces, 15.31 digs and 2.02 blocks per set while connecting at a .200 clip on the strength of 1,111 kills and 497 errors in 3,076 attempts.
Jade Strawberry leads a balanced UConn offense with 2.95 kills per set while Kenya Cason and Erika Thomas sport respective averages of 2.61 and 2.18. Rebecca Rivera paces the Huskies with 5.80 assists per set and Emma Turner is close behind with 5.03 per frame, and Strawberry has a team-best 24 aces. Kennedy Arundel leads the Husky defense with 4.07 digs per set and Immanuel Anagu paces the front-line unit with 1.15 blocks per outing.
Following the weekend, the Green Wave return to action on Friday, Nov. 13 when they open a three-match road swing against SMU in Dallas. From there, Tulane will play at Tulsa on Nov. 15 and at Houston on Nov. 18 before closing out the home portion of the 2015 schedule on Nov. 22 against East Carolina. Prior to that contest, Tulane will honor senior outside hitter Amy Lanski with a special ceremony.
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).
