Volleyball Falls to Memphis in Five

Sunday, October 23

Memphis, TN

1 p.m. CT

Tulane University

13-9, 5-5

University of Memphis*

11-11, 3-7

Tulane

Memphis

Oct 23, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Final Stats

MEMPHIS – Tulane battled through five hard-fought sets for the tenth time in the 2016 season, but this time was unable to seal the deal as the Green Wave fell 2-3 to Memphis on Sunday afternoon in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. In the match, junior right-side hitter Sarah Ray moved to no. 2 on the all-time list, notching a career-high 36 kills. With the loss, Tulane falls to 13-9 on the year and 5-5 in American Athletic Conference play.

QUOTE

"We have to be more prepared to start matches the right way. We didn't have enough people playing at a high enough level, and if we do, we can handle this team. We had great performances by Sarah Ray and Sarah Strasner, but it's a team game, and everyone has got to show up prepared to play at the top level. We've finished the first round of conference play, and now it's important that we're ready to play in the second half."

--Tulane head coach Jim Barnes

HOW IT WAS WON

Tulane opened the match on an early 7-2 set-one lead, putting pressure on Memphis from the very start, but the Tigers would bounce back to even things at 14-all, playing a back-and-forth set with the Green Wave until Tulane fell 25-23. Memphis would notch the first points of the second outing, but Tulane would capitalize on four straight points to take a 15-10 lead later on. With the Tigers fighting back, set two would turn into a point-by-point battle between the two teams, with 23 tie scores and 10 lead changes before Memphis sealed the deal on a 33-31 win.

After the set break, the Tigers got on the board early, with Tulane tying things up at four on a kill by Sarah Ray. The two teams would continue to battle until the Green Wave notched four straight to pull ahead 13-9, setting the tone for the rest of the set. Tulane would widen the gap to 19-12 before forcing a fourth outing on a score of 25-18.

The fourth set started off with a Tulane kill from Tea Juric, and the Green Wave would widen their lead to 7-2 before the Tigers called time. Memphis would come within two points of the Green Wave on multiple occasions, but Tulane would hold a steady lead, forcing a fifth set on a 25-18 win.

Another battle ensued in the fifth and final set of the day, with Tulane holding an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides. Tied at nine, Memphis would notch three straight to pull ahead of the Green Wave, clinging to the lead until the end as Tulane would fall 12-15 to drop the match 2-3.

On the day, Sarah Ray, Justine Bowers and Tea Juric all notched double-doubles, with Bowers recording 68 assists. Senior middle hitter Sarah Strasner hit .476, her highest since the preseason.

UP NEXT

Tulane remains on the road next weekend, heading west for American Athletic Conference match-ups at Tulsa and SMU. The Green Wave will take on the Golden Hurricane on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. CT.