Tulane University
Stetson
Sand Volleyball Drops Pair of 3-2 Matches on Saturday
Mar 28, 2015 | Women's Beach Volleyball
CHARLESTON, S.C. - A bitter taste was left in the mouth of the Tulane sand volleyball program (10-8) on Saturday, as the Green Wave were very close in knocking off a pair of top tier teams, falling 3-2 to both No. 7 Georgia State (14-1) and Stetson (13-1) in day two action of the College of Charleston Sand Classic. However, the court three freshmen pairing of Lan Nguyen and Madeline Mertz shone bright today, winning both of their matches to improve to 12-6 on the year.
The Olive and Blue dug themselves into a 2-0 hole in the opening round against the seventh nationally ranked Panthers, dropping straight-set decisions on both courts four and five.
Yet, in round two, the flight one duo of Tea Juric and Jackie Wegner got the Wave on the board with their 13th win on the season, defeating Katelyn Rawls and Nina Interwies, 21-16, 24-22. Next, Nguyen and Mertz evened the score, besting Jansen Button and Sara Olivova, 20-22, 21-14, 15-11.
Thus, it all came down to a third set on court two, between Tulane's Grace Weaver and Hannah Holmes and GSU's Majada Dostolova and Milani Pickering. Unfortunately for the Wave, their revenge match was cut just short, as the Panthers took it 23-21, 15-21, 15-12.
"As a team we competed very well against Georgia State and had a golden opportunity to defeat one of the premier teams in the country," Tulane head coach Wayne Holly said. "The players on courts one and three played excellent volleyball to get us even after we fell in a 0-2 hole in the first round."
In Tulane's match vs. Stetson, the Wave emerged from the first round in a 1-1 tie, thanks to Miah Diirell and Annie Shurtz on court five, who defeated Claudia Kalin and Madison Tormey, 21-19, 21-23, 15-7.
In the second round, Tulane had to learn how to adapt when the court one tandem of Juric/Wegner suffered defeat for the first time in seven matches, falling 21-16, 21-18 to Kayley Melville and Julie Bassett.
Stetson then took advantage and closed out the team win in flight two, before Nguyen/Mertz tacked on another point for the Green Wave - defeating Holly Reschke and Savannah Byl, 13-21, 21-13, 15-9.
"For the second time in the day, we came within a few plays of defeating a top tier program but fell short," Holly explained. "While I see it as a positive that we are putting ourselves in a position currently to defeat such great teams, our team needs to find a way to win a dual on the rare occasions when we do not win at the No. 1 flight. We need greater consistency in our performance at many of our flights and a far greater urgency to improve rapidly during our training on fundamentals."
Tulane will close out the Charleston Sand Classic on Sunday with yet another pair of matches. This time, they'll square off against Carson-Newman at 7 a.m. CT, before taking on Jacksonville immediately afterwards at 8:30 a.m.
Green Wave Results
#7 Georgia State 3 - Tulane 2
Round I
Court 5: Jessica Fourspring/Alexis Townsend (GSU) def. Miah Diirell/Annie Shurtz (TU), 21-16, 21-16
Court 4: Delaney Rohan/Natalie Wilson (GSU) def. Christina McAfee/Sarah Strasner (TU), 21-19, 21-10
Round II
Court 3: Lan Nguyen/Maddy Mertz (TU) def. Jansen Button/Sara Olivova (GSU), 20-22, 21-14, 15-11
Court 2: Majada Dostolova/Milani Pickering (GSU) def. Hannah Holmes/Grace Weaver (TU), 23-21, 15-21, 15-12
Court 1: Tea Juric/Jackie Wegner (TU) def. Katelyn Rawls/Nina Interwies (GSU), 21-16, 24-22
Stetson 3 - Tulane 2
Round I
Court 5: Miah Diirell/Annie Shurtz (TU) def. Claudia Kalin/Madison Tormey (SU), 21-19, 21-23, 15-7
Court 4: Kaylee Anderson/Madison Akins (SU) def. Christina McAfee/Sarah Strasner (TU), 21-16, 20-22, 15-11
Round II
Court 3: Lan Nguyen/Maddy Mertz (TU) def. Holly Reschke/Savannah Byl (SU), 13-21, 21-13, 15-9
Court 2: Maren Rygh/Kristen Lind (SU) def. Hannah Holmes/Grace Weaver (TU), 21-13, 21-8
Court 1: Kayley Melville/Julie Bassett (SU) def. Tea Juric/Jackie Wegener (TU), 21-16, 21-18
