Volleyball Wraps Week 1 Of Preseason With 3-Set Scrimmage
Aug 15, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Video Interview With Coach Momic
NEW ORLEANS - Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Ray and junior setter Ally Frank both tallied double-doubles as the Tulane University volleyball team concluded its first week of preseason camp with a three-set intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday morning in Devlin Fieldhouse.
After holding two-a-day practices from Monday through Friday, the Green Wave played a trio of sets to 18 and the overall competitive atmosphere established over the first five days of drills was evident as the team battled to scores of 18-16, 18-13 and 18-15. Ray led the offense with 11 kills and a pair of service aces while chipping in with 13 digs. Frank, meanwhile, tallied 20 assist and 10 digs while chipping in with a pair of block assists.
"It was very competitive," Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic said. "We tried to keep the teams evenly matched and it's obvious that we are much deeper than last year. That gives us the opportunity to try different things. All three sets were pretty even. We played shorter sets to 18 because we didn't want to risk any injuries at this point. We saw a lot of good things and the important thing is we can build on this and improve a lot."
Ray was the lone Tulane student-athlete to post double-figure kill totals while junior outside hitters Tea Juric and Annie Shurtz tallied nine each. Juric led the Green Wave with 15 digs to go with three block assists and freshman defensive specialist Lisa Mordell rounded out four players with double-digit dig performances with 10 ups of her own.
Junior middle blocker Sarah Strasner headlined the offense with a .333 attack percentage on the strength of six kills and one error in 15 swings and led the front-line defense with five blocks (1 solo, 4 assists). Freshman setter Elizabeth Hurring, meanwhile, paced Tulane with 23 assists to go with four digs and a pair of blocks.
"I think it was on a decent level for week one," Momic added. "The attitude was there. The mentality was there. A couple of things that we stressed during the first week of practice were evident. We focused on our defensive system, our passing and how we want things to run. Already, we can see that things are getting better. There is still a lot of room to improve, but that's a good thing at this point. Now we, as coaches, know what we need to work on next week.
"They're all working really hard. From a couple of individuals we are seeing more desire and more drive, and that is very important. That will transfer to other teammates in all of the things we are working on both on and off the court. In the long run, that will make this team much better."
The Green Wave will enjoy a day off on Sunday before continuing preseason practice with a pair of sessions starting at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Monday in the Hertz Center. Tulane opens the 2015 season on Friday, Aug. 28, when they travel to Huntsville, Texas, to square off against Montana State and host Sam Houston State in day one of the Sam Houston Invitational.
After showdowns against Prairie View A&M and UTSA on Aug. 29, Tulane's first home match of the 2015 campaign will be on Friday, Sept. 11, when the Green Wave play Incarnate Word in the Sugar Bowl Classic opener. The Wave will battle Nicholls State later that day before facing North Carolina State and TCU in day two of the event.
Season tickets for the 2015 Tulane volleyball team are available for $55 through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. Single-match tickets are also for sale at prices of $6 for adults and $4 for youths (ages 3-12). Tickets can be purchase by clicking HERE or by calling the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE (9283).
