Volleyball Heads to Mississippi for Bulldog Invitational

MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOG INVITATIONAL TULANE GREEN WAVE (3-1 OVERALL, 0-0 AMERICAN)
When:	Friday, Sept. 1 \| 12 p.m. CT vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m. CT vs. Mississippi State Saturday, Sept. 2 \| 1 p.m. CT vs. Stephen F. Austin
Where:	Starkville, Miss.
Watch:	TBA
Stats:	TBA
Twitter:	@GreenWave
Facebook:	@GreenWaveVolleyball

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane volleyball hits the road on Thursday afternoon for a five-hour drive to Starkville, Miss. to compete at the Mississippi State Bulldog Invitational. The two-day, three match tournament features contests against in-state foe Grambling State, as well as Mississippi State and Stephen F. Austin.

"We're excited to get into a real tournament, and I know what we've gone through has really prepared us well," head coach Jim Barnes said. "I think that these opponents are really going to help us get better. It's really going to test our training and discipline. This weekend is going to teach us quite a bit on getting to a next level."

The Green Wave (3-1 overall, 0-0 American) comes off a successful opening weekend in which it won three of four games. Tulane opened its season by splitting a doubleheader against UL Lafayette on Aug. 25 in Lafayette, La., before returning home to New Orleans the next day for its home opener and sweeping South Alabama. The Green Wave swept the doubleheader, winning the first and second match, 3-2 and 3-0, respectively.

"I thought we improved a great deal," Barnes said. "We learned a ton of information from the four matches. I like how our young team plays at ends of games. People wanted the ball and wanted to step up in those moments."

Tulane will first play Grambling State (1-2 overall, 0-0 SWAC) at noon on Friday, Sept. 1, before facing Mississippi State (2-1 overall, 0-0 SEC), 7 p.m. later that day. The Green Wave then plays SFA (2-1 overall, 0-0 Southland), 1 p.m. Saturday, before returning home. Barnes and the coaching staff identified weaknesses following the team's first four games, and they hope more match play will help the squad grow.

"As a young team, we gave up leads in the middle of games, so it put us in a bad position," Barnes said. "We talked about that a great deal. We have to fight for every point in the middle of games and not let teams back in. Those were the main points we learned, and it was a good start for us. Better teams are coming and we have to improve."

Season ticket packages for the 2017 season are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging onto TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

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Volleyball Heads to Mississippi for Bulldog Invitational

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