2015 Sand Volleyball Season in Review
May 18, 2015 | Women's Beach Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS -- The 2015 sand season marked the best year to date in Tulane's short four year history with the program, as the Green Wave earned its third straight winning season. In a year in which they competed in 28 dual matches spanning five tournaments, the Olive and Blue compiled a program high 18-10 record and ranked 19th in the country according to the final DiG Poll.
At each of the five weekend tournaments, the Wave earned exactly three wins to go along with their doubleheader sweep of UNO and a neutral court victory over North Florida to reach their 18 wins. Tulane tallied 10 shutouts over the spring and went 6-8 in close 3-2 decisions. In all, the Wave competed in seven duals against top-20 ranked opposition.
Other schedule highlights included the Wave remaining undefeated against in-state rival LSU, twice bestingthe Tigers in 2015 to move to 4-0 all-time. Tulane also flexed its muscle for top sand school in New Orleans, sweeping UNO 5-0 four times this past season. In addition, the Green Wave achieved its first program win against Arizona State.
"I couldn't possibly be more proud of the team, Tulane head coach Wayne Holly said. "At every flight, wherever we put people, they handled it well. We had at least a .500 record at every flight, but outside ofrecords, I couldn't be happier with how our players bought into what we were teaching them."
Tulane's top pair of Jackie Wegner and Tea Juric once again made program history and then some this spring. After a 19-15 campaign in 2014, the duo became the program's first 30 match winner, earning an impressive 30-11 record.
In addition, Wegner and Juric not only became the first tandem to receive back-to-back bids to the AVCA National Championships, but also the first duo to reach the Round of 16 elimination bracket for the national pairs title. Furthermore, in a highlight from earlier in the season, Wegner/Juric accomplished six straight wins to reach the title match at the Fiesta on Siesta Key Pairs Championships.
"It's hard for me to describe what they did for this program," Holly stated. "They were brilliant in their willingness to learn and to do the things I was asking them to do. They are, in my mind, All-Americans. They had an amazing season and always represent us with great class."
In a promising sign of things to come in 2016, the freshmen duo of Lan Nguyen and Madeline Mertz recorded the second best record at 22-9, including a 13-1 mark at the No. 3 position. Speaking of the number 13, Nguyen and Mertz produced a team best 13 straight victories spanning from March 21 to April 11.
"I loved their resiliency," Holly explained. "It took some time for us to figure out where can they best be successful, and they handled that with a great mindset. Once they got to the No. 3 flight, they settled in and did what we expected them to."
Despite those top two records, the best winning percentage belonged to the pairing of Courtney Liddle and Annie Shurtz, who dominated flight No. 4 with a 17-5 record, good for a .773 winning percentage.
"We asked Courtney to hand set because she's one of the best," Holly said. "Once she started doing that, it helped Annie become the dynamic, physical attacker that she is. There's few players who could match Annie's physicality - just a great dynamic hitter."
Another mainstay in Tulane's lineup all season long was the pairing of Hannah Holmes and Grace Weaver, who went 14-14, splitting time between flights No. 2 and 3. Weaver became the first four-year letter-winner to go through the program, compiling a career total of 36 wins along the way.
Also contributing to the Wave's win total this year were sophomores Miah Diirell and Sarah Strasner and freshman Christina McAfee. Diirell posted her first winning season and fifth best individual record overall at 19-12. Meanwhile, Strasner and McAfee went 13-15 and 10-11, respectively.
Thus, 2016 will see the Green Wave seek its first appearance at nationals as a team, in a season that marks the first year the sport is recognized as an NCAA championship event. With just Weaver graduating, Tulane will welcome back a strong veteran nucleus along with five incoming freshmen.
