Tulane University
Texas-Rio Grande Valley
Volleyball Posts 4-Set Win Over UT Rio Grande Valley
Sep 19, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Tulane/UT Rio Grande Valley Box Score In PDF Format 
BEAUMONT, Texas - In times of adversity during athletic competition, the cream often rises to the top. Tea Juric did exactly that for the Tulane University volleyball team on Saturday afternoon against UT Rio Grande Valley as the junior outside hitter tallied a career-high 28 kills to help lift the Green Wave to a 3-1 win over the Vaqueros in day two of the Cardinal Classic in Lamar's McDonald Gym.
Playing without junior middle blocker Sarah Strasner, who left the game with an apparent injury midway through the opening set, Tulane swept the first two contests against UT Rio Grande Valley 25-23 and 30-28 before the Vaqueros rolled to a 25-15 win in the third set. The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle and Juric who provided the winning margin with a crushing kill to give the Wave a 26-24 victory.
With the win, Tulane evens its record at 5-5 and will close out action in the Cardinal Classic against host Lamar at 5:30 p.m. The match will be a battle for the team tournament title as both the Green Wave and the Cardinals are 2-0 in the event with wins over Jackson State and UTRGV.
In addition to her kill total, Juric led Tulane at the serving stripe with three aces and shared team-high dig honors with sophomore outside hitter Sarah Ray at 13 each. Ray completed a double-double of her own with 16 kills, freshman setter Elizabeth Hurring had 48 of the team's 54 assists and rookie middle blocker Dayna Kern tallied a season-best seven blocks (2 solo, 5 assists).
Tulane hit .290 for the match with 58 kills and 16 errors in 145 total swings, saving its best offensive production for what proved to be the final set when the Green Wave connected at a .562 clip with 19 kills and just one miscue in 32 opportunities. Juric was a big reason for that as the third-year standout had only four errors in 55 attacks.
The tone for the match was set early on as Tulane and UT Rio Grande Valley traded the first 30 points of the opening set before the Vaqueros used a 3-0 run to claim an 18-15 lead. The Green Wave, however, outscored UTRGV 9-5 the rest of the way to take the opening frame.
It was a similar situation in the second set as the two teams set deadlocked at 20-20. UT Rio Grande Valley had a set-point opportunity at 24-23 following a kill by Alexandra Ecker, but a Juric kill tie things up and the Green Wave took advantage of a Vaqueros attack error 10 serves later to take a two-sets-to-none lead.
The third frame was all UTRGV as the Vaqueros rode out to a 5-1 lead and never trailed at any point. The Rio Grande Valley lead swelled as the set progressed and the match was extended courtesy of the 10-point Vaqueros win. Tulane got off to a better start in the fourth set with a 4-1 run early on, but the dogfight resumed and the two teams were tied eight times down the stretch before Juric's match-deciding kill.
Bojana Mitrovic led UT Rio Grande Valley with 24 kills, followed closely by Alisha Watson with 20 and Haley Durham with 11. Tina Sekulic led all players with a match-high 55 assists and the duo of Mitrovic and Fatoumata Dacosta shared team-high dig honors with 11 each.
Following the Cardinal Classic finale, 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).
