Tulane University
Lamar
Volleyball Falls To Lamar In Cardinal Classic Finale, 3-1
Sep 19, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Tulane/Lamar Box Score In PDF Format 
BEAUMONT, Texas - It was a case of good news/bad news for the Tulane University volleyball team on Saturday afternoon when the Green Wave squared off with host Lamar in the title match of the Cardinal Classic in McDonald Gym.
At first glance, the news was bad as the Green Wave dropped a hard-fought, four-match set to the Cardinals where a key point here or there could have turned the outcome into a win. The silver lining, however, was the coaching staff saw marked improvement from the team as the weekend progressed and the Tulane squad gave Lamar everything it could handle -- and them some -- while playing without its top two middle blockers due to injury.
"We lost part of our offense and the team was perhaps not as steady mentally at times," Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic said. "We have to get used to things like this happening. I think we still could have beaten this team. We just made too many unforced errors.
"But during the tournament as a whole, we showed good improvement and some fighting spirit. In that second match [against UT Rio Grande Valley] against a really tough team, they showed tremendous character and that is something we can build on as we go into conference."
The outside hitting tandem of Tea Juric and Sarah Ray claimed Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team recognition, and Juric paced the Green Wave against Lamar with 13 kills and nine digs to go with a service ace and a block. Ray, meanwhile, had 12 kills, six digs and a pair of blocks in the loss.
Freshman setter Elizabeth Hurring tallied 36 of the Wave's 37 assists on the night and the Green Wave accumulated 11.0 team blocks despite playing without the services of freshman Dayna Kern and Sarah Strasner. Junior Annie Shurtz, who is an outside hitter by trade but started the match in the middle due to the depleted roster, and freshman right side hitter Aubrey Folk shared team-high blocking honors with five assists each, and sophomore middle Maggie Singleton added four (3 solo, 1 assist).
"[Annie] surprised us a little bit," Momic said. "We're still looking for ways to get Annie on the court. We're also looking for ways to make the team deeper and have quality subs off the bench for each position. Annie deserved the chance to play and we'll consider her in the future to play some different positions."
The Green Wave got off to a good start as Tulane jumped out to a 3-1 lead and held a 13-10 advantage midway through the opening set. Lamar, however, used a 4-0 run to take a 14-13 lead and never trailed again. The two teams battled to four ties down the stretch, but the Cardinals scored three of the last four points of the set to win, 25-23.
The slugfest continue in the second frame as Tulane and Lamar sat deadlocked at 12-all midway through the set. The Green Wave trailed by as many as four at 16-12, but used a 9-4 run to take a 21-20 lead late in the frame. That would be Tulane's last lead, though, as the Cardinals scored key points down the stretch to come away with another 25-23 decision.
The third set was all Tulane as the Green Wave used a 4-0 run midway through the stanza to take a 10-6 lead they would not relinquish. The advantage swelled as the set moved along and the Wave extended the match with a convincing 25-14 victory.
The momentum carried over to the early portion of what proved to be the final set as Tulane led 4-1 after five serves and held a 18-16 lead later in the frame. As they had done for most of the match, however, Lamar rallied late and outscored the Green Wave 10-6 the rest of the way to clinch the contest with a 26-24 win.
"There's still more work to be done and more improvement to be made," Momic added. "We're not going to say that this loss is understandable without our two middles. I think we could have done a better job in the third match, but to get two wins over the weekend is important."
Autumn Taylor led three Lamar players with double-digit kill totals at 13 while both Chelsea Grant and Cortney Moore posted 12 apiece. Haley Morton headlined the Cardinal defense with 11 digs and completed a double-double with a team-leading 11 digs. Grant paced the front-line unit with a match-best seven blocks.
The Green Wave return to action on Friday, Sept. 25, when Tulane opens American Athletic Conference action against Tulsa at 7 p.m. inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse. The match against the Golden Hurricane is the first of three-straight home contests for the Wave, who will host league rival SMU on Sept. 27 and cross-town foe UNO on Sept. 29.
Single-match tickets are available through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office 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).
CARDINAL CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Chelsea Grant, Lamar
Tea Juric, Tulane
Bojana Mitrovic, UT Rio Grande Valley
Sarah Ray, Tulane
Lauren, Stahlman, Lamar
Taija Thomask Jackson State
MVP -- Cortney Moore, Lamar
