Volleyball Readies for Tulane Invitational, Looks to Extend Win Streak

TULANE INVITATIONAL TULANE GREEN WAVE (8-2 OVERALL, 0-0 AMERICAN)
When:	Friday, Sept. 15 \| 7 p.m. vs. Northwestern State Saturday, Sept. 16 \| 12:30 p.m. vs. Alabama State, 7 P.M. vs. North Florida
Where:	Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse \| New Orleans, La.
Watch:	Roll Wave!
Stats:	Roll Wave!
Twitter:	@GreenWave
Facebook:	@GreenWaveVolleyball

Tournament schedule

NEW ORLEANS – The tournament action continues this weekend at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, as Tulane volleyball is set to host the Tulane Invitational, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16. Tulane first plays Northwestern State at 7 p.m. on Friday, before facing Alabama State and North Florida at 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, respectively.

"This weekend is another progression on getting this team to the next level," head coach Jim Barnes said. "This tournament is perfect for us because we're at home again, allowing us to recover and work on some things that will get us to that next level. Conference play begins next weekend, and we've been saying all year that we've got to use this week to get to the next level."

Tulane looks to win another trophy after defending its home court last weekend, defeating Oklahoma, 3-1, to claim the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Volleyball Classic championship. Sophomore libero Kaylie McHugh was recognized as Defensive Player of the Week by the American Athletic Conference after earning the tournament's MVP award, as well as Defensive Player of the Tournament recognition. McHugh wrapped up the tournament with 45 digs (4.09 digs/set) in 11 sets played, recording a weekend-high 23 digs in the win against Oklahoma, to go along with her 12 digs against Southern Miss and 10 digs against Nicholls.

Northwestern State, Alabama State and North Florida come to New Orleans, vying to slow the Green Wave's roll. Tulane has won eight of its past nine games and leads the American Athletic Conference in assists, while ranking second in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage and kills.

"We've been pushing our team to continue getting better offensively and defensively," Barnes said. "We're at the top in most statistical categories in our conference, and we're striving to be the best in every category. I think the thing that shines is that we're at the top in most team stat categories, but we have nobody in the top-10 individually. It's a sign of a true team effort, and that's what our edge is. We have great team effort."

Northwestern State enters the weekend with a 4-7 record following a five-set victory on Tuesday against UL-Monroe, while Alabama State is riding a two match win streak after victories against Western Carolina and Jacksonville. North Florida is coming off of a 1-2 weekend at the Georgia Tech Invite where it defeated Xavier, but lost to Kansas State and Georgia Tech.

"Last year, we started poorly at home, and that hurt our attendance," Barnes said. "It was critical we come out strong this season, and we're now 5-0 at home. If you want to win a conference championship, you've got to have a strong home court environment. I hope the student body comes out and supports our team because they can help drive us to a championship."

A live stream including play-by-play and analysis of Tulane's three matches will be available at TulaneGreenWave.com. Non-Tulane matches will stream, but without audio.

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 Readies for Tulane Invitational, Looks to Extend Win Streak

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Players Mentioned

Kaylie McHugh

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