Tulane University
16-7, 4-4AAC
UConn
11-10,3-5AAC
Volleyball Sweeps UConn, Earns Fourth Consecutive Conference Win
Oct 19, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
STORRS, Connecticutย โย Tulane volleyball earned its fourth consecutive conference win on Friday, defeating UConn in three sets on the road for the team's tenth sweep of the season.
"I am proud of the team for implementing into the match what we practiced all week," head coach Jim Barnes said. "We transition-killed the ball very well and held their offense down. Our motto lately has been 'have fun playing hard,' and we definitely did that tonight."
The Green Wave totaled 44 kills in the match while hitting .312, holding the Huskies to a hitting percentage of .058.
Freshman outside hitter Makala Heidelberg led Tulane's offense, tallying 11 kills and zero errors to record a .407 hitting percentage. Junior right side hitter Erika Hansel added nine kills while hitting .200, while senior middle hitter Dayna Kern totaled six kills and zero errors to hit .600. Junior libero Kaylie McHugh led the Green Wave on the defensive end of the court, tallying 16 digs of the team's 49 total.
Tulane grabbed a quick lead in the first set, with a 5-1 run putting the team ahead to start it off. Three consecutive kills from the Green Wave, one from Kern and two from freshman outside hitter Yvette Burcescu, kept the team on top with a score of 17-10. Tulane stayed ahead for the remainder of set one, with Burcescu hitting her fourth kill of the set to close it out and put the Green Wave in the lead 1-0.
The second set began similar to the first, with back-to-back kills from Heidelberg giving the Olive and Blue a four-point lead at 7-3. Five consecutive kills, three from Burcescu and two from Heidelberg kept Tulane ahead with a 12-7 score while forcing a UConn timeout. The Green Wave came back and continued their strong offensive play, tallying six kills to earn a 9-0 run with a 24-10 score. Freshman middle hitter Kayla Dinkins recorded her third kill of the set, scoring Tulane's 25th point to put Tulane ahead by two in the match.
A kill from Hansel put Tulane in the lead in the final set, breaking the tie to put the score at 10-9. The Green Wave hit .111 in set three, holding UConn to a hitting percentage of -.143 to earn the sweep. A 5-0 run kept Tulane on top at the end of the matchย with a 24-15 score, before a kill at match point from sophomore outside hitter Lexie Douglas solidified the win.
The Green Wave will head to Philadelphia, matching up against Temple on Sunday at 12 p.m.
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