Tulane University
Tulsa
Volleyball Opens American Action With Dramatic 3-2 Win Over Tulsa
Sep 25, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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Tulane/Tulsa Box Score In PDF Format 
NEW ORLEANS - According to the official NCAA Volleyball regulations, Rule 8.4.1 states that "All matches consist of the best three of five sets." Fortunately for the Tulane University squad, there is not definitive rule stating what order the set wins must come as the Green Wave rallied for a 2-1 deficit to defeat American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa in five sets in the league opener for both teams on Friday evening within the friendly confines of Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.
After squandering three set-point opportunities in the opening frame and falling, 30-28, the Green Wave (6-6, 1-0 The American) rallied from a 21-16 deficit in the second stanza to even the match with a 25-22 victory. The Golden Hurricane (5-8, 0-1 The American) had Tulane on the ropes again with a 25-22 decision in the third set, but the Wave rolled to a 25-14 win in set four before overcoming a slow start to send the crowd home happy with a 15-11 outcome in the finale frame.
"We talked about this being an opportunity for us to set the tone for the rest of the season," Tulane head coach Sinisa Momic said. "The biggest thing we have to establish is playing as a team and fighting throughout the match - especially when things get tough. That's exactly what we did tonight.
"With Sarah Strasner out with injury, we tried Annie [Shurtz] in the middle. We tried Maggie [Singleton] in the middle. We switched setters. We had a total, team contribution and we were able to fight it out against a really tough team. We had some chances early on that we didn't take advantage of, but we never stopped. We waited for [Tulsa] to make some errors and just played good volleyball throughout all five sets."
With the match tied at two sets apiece, Tulane got off to a rocky start in the final frame as Tulsa scored the first two points courtesy of a kill by Rebecca Reeve and an ace by Erica Bohannon. The Green Wave rallied to tie the score at 2-all and again later at 6-6 before getting back-to-back kills by freshman middle blocker Dayna Kern and junior outside hitter Tea Juric to take an 8-6 lead they would not relinquish.
Following the customary switching of benches and a Tulsa timeout, the Golden Hurricane made it a one-point affair on a kill by Ashley Hooper but could get no closer as the Green Wave scored five of the next six to take a 13-8 lead. Tulsa fended off one match-point chance by Tulane before freshman right-side hitter Aubrey Folk hammered home the winner down the line to spark the Green Wave celebration.
"You just have to stay in it," Momic said of his team's ability to come from behind for the win. "You never know who is going to make a mistake. You could win by three or four points or the other team can do the same. We had some chances in set one and didn't use them to our advantage, but we didn't stop. That's the most important thing.
"In rally-scoring volleyball, it's just a matter of a couple of points most of the time and that has to be how we play. Our quality came out in the end. We have to beat teams like this that are going to fight throughout the season. That's a huge lesson that we will take from this first conference match. The girls should be proud, and we're proud of the way that they fought through this one."
As a team, the Green Wave hit .207 with 61 kills and 21 errors in 193 swings and held Tulsa to a .134 clip (62-33-216), including a .056 clip over the final two sets when the Golden Hurricane managed just 18 kills while committing 14 errors in 71 total attacks.
Juric had a double-double with 21 kills and 23 digs to go with four blocks and a pair of assists to lead the Green Wave. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Ray had a double-double of her own with 14 kills and 15 digs, as did freshman setter Elizabeth Hurring with 13 assists and 11 digs. Kern added 10 kills to go with a trio of blocks, Folk posted eight block assists to go with seven kills and three digs, and fellow rookie Lisa Mordell led all players with 31 digs - a total that sits tied for the eighth-most in Tulane history - from the libero position. Junior defensive specialist Makenzie Frieden rounded out five Green Wave players with double-digit dig totals with a dozen.
Tulane also got big contributions off the bench as junior setter Ally Frank and junior middle blocker Annie Shurtz entered the match midway through the second set to help turn thing around for the Green Wave. Frank led the team with 38 assists while chipping in with seven digs, two blocks and a service ace. Shurtz, meanwhile, finished the match with four kills and tied Folk for match-high blocking honors with eight stuffs.
"Ally did a good job and sped up our offense a little bit," Momic said. "Overall, we're a team that has a lot of players that can dig a ball. We just have to improve the quality of our passes. If we match that with our size and our offense, we can be hard to beat. That was something that was very improved tonight."
Things looked bleak for the Green Wave midway through the second set as Tulsa carried the momentum of its come-back effort in the opener to take a 14-7 lead in the second set. The Golden Hurricane held a five-point advantage at 21-16 later in the frame before the insertion of Frank and Shurtz into the Green Wave lineup helped Tulane rattle off eight straight points as part of a 9-1 run to end the stanza and tie the match at one set apiece.
It was the exact opposite story in the third frame as Tulane ran out to a 4-0 lead and held a 10-5 lead after 15 serves. Tulsa refused to go away quietly and the Golden Hurricane rallied to tie the set at 16-all and the two teams traded the next 10 points to make it 21-21. From there, however, Tulsa scored four of the set's final five points to go up 2-1.
The fourth set was all Tulane as the Green Wave rolled out to a 9-3 lead and never looked back. Tulane extended the lead as the stanza progressed and the 11-point lead sent the match into the winner-take-all fifth frame.
"Against all of the teams that we're going to play, you can expect sets that are going to be within three or four points consistently," Momic added. "Everything is tight like this one was, but it's that attitude and fighting spirit of not letting anything get you down that makes a team good in the long run."
Reeve led Tulsa with a match-high 23 kills and was joined in double figures offensively by Hooper and Bohannon with 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Sophie Bethke had 49 of the Golden Hurricane's 56 assists and completed a double-double with 14 digs. Reeve also had a double-double with 19 digs to go with her kill total while Brooke Berryhill paced Tulsa with 27 digs.
Friday's win over Tulsa was the first of a three-match homestand for Tulane as the Green Wave will take on league foe SMU at noon on Sunday before facing cross-town rival University of New Orleans on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets for those matches, as well as future Green Wave contests, 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).
