Tulane University
12-5
Tulsa
9-4
Green Wave Volleyball Drops 3-0 Match to Tulsa
Sep 23, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
"Congratulations to Tulsa, they played very well," head coach Jim Barnes said. "They were the more consistent team today. We have several things to work on."
Freshman outside hitter Yvette Burcescu led the Green Wave with eight kills in the match, hitting .304, followed by sophomore outside hitter Lexie Douglas and junior right side hitter Erika Hansel with seven each. Junior libero Kaylie McHugh added a team-high 21 digs, with freshman setter Taylor Henigsman tallying 18 assists.
A kill from Douglas started the match off with a point for Tulane but the team was unable to keep its early lead, with Tulsa staying ahead for the remainder of set one. Despite the Green Wave's .303 hitting percentage, with Douglas, Burcescu, Hansel and senior middle hitter Dayna Kern each posting three kills, the Golden Hurricane stayed on top to take the first with a 25-20 score.
The second set marked an even competition between the two teams, with five tied scores and a close margin between Tulane and Tulsa at all times. A 5-0 run from the Golden Hurricane put the home team ahead with a score of 12-6 before the Green Wave increased its offensive momentum to close the gap to 16-15, with Tulsa ahead by one. Three consecutive kills from Heidelberg, Benoit and Burcescu tied it up at 19 but was not enough to stop Tulsa from closing it out 25-22 to take the second set.
Tulane never held the lead in the third set but stayed close behind Tulsa until the end. The Green Wave went on a 5-0 run to hold the Golden Hurricane at 23 points, behind by one at 22, eventually tying it up at 24. The Olive and Blue were unable to finish it to force a fourth set, falling 26-24 in the final.
The Green Wave continue on with conference play at home next weekend, matching up against UCF on Friday at 12 p.m. and USF on Sunday at 1 p.m at Fogelman Arena in Devlin Stadium.
Follow Tulane volleyball on social media at @GreenWaveVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
