Volleyball Ropes Bulls in Sweep Friday

Friday, October 25

Tampa, FL

6 PM

Tulane University

16-6,6-3AAC

USF

7-16,1-8AAC

Tulane

South Fla.

Photo by: Niamh Brennan

Oct 25, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Looking to open its set of Florida matches on a strong note, the Tulane Green Wave volleyball team got a complete team effort in a sweep of the USF Bulls on Friday night 25-17, 25-13, 25-17 inside The Corral in Tampa.

The Green Wave (16-6, 6-3 The American) hit .204 in the match with 37 kills on 35 assists, while recording 12 team blocks and scooping up 51 digs in holding USF (7-16, 1-8) to a zero hitting clip.

"That was a good match as far as being very balanced offensively," head coach Jim Barnes said. "We served tough and set the tone with our arms tonight. It's a good start to the second half that we've been talking about. These, now, seven matches left of the second half we've got to step up and be the team we can be."

Lexie Douglas and Erika Hansel each had eight kills for Tulane Friday night, with Douglas hitting .350 and Hansel hitting .400.

Freshman Lauryn Green led all players with eight blocks, producing six kills and hitting .364 against the Bulls. Makala Heidelberg finished with seven kills and 13 digs, having three of Tulane's nine service aces in the contest.

Amanda Giardina earned a double-double with 17 assists and team-high 14 digs, while Taylor Henigsman had 13 assists, four digs and a service ace.

Tulane wasted little time setting the tone early against the Bulls, with the team opening the match on a blistering start taking eight of the first 10 points to take an early 8-2 lead over the USF. That included a 4-0 run as the team got kills from Yvette Burcescu and Green, a block from Green and Heidelberg and a service ace from Henigsman.

USF scored just five more points over the course of the next 13 to have to call their second timeout of the opener, trailing the Green Wave 16-7. The Bulls rebounded by netting the next four after that to pull within five after their longest run of the match, but Tulane rebounded by taking the next three to go up 19-11.

While the Bulls earned five of the next seven points the home side would earn just one more after that against Tulane, as the Green Wave closed out the match on a 4-1 swing to take the first set 25-17.

Three consecutive attacking errors by the Bulls after having just dropped the first set was how Tulane was able to open the second with a 3-0 lead, eventually going up 5-1. However, USF countered and was able to pull within two after a 4-2 run made the score 7-5 in favor of the Green Wave.

That two-point deficit was the closest USF would get to the Green Wave for the remainder of the set as Tulane began to pour it on offensively. A three-point swing after kills from Hansel and Green along with a USF attacking error pushed the lead to 10-5. By the time the Bulls called a timeout to try and stop the onslaught they were down 15-8.

USF would call its second timeout three points later as the Green Wave lead ballooned to 17-9 after a block from Heidelberg and Green. By the time it was all said and done, Tulane would close out the set outscoring the Bulls 18-8 to go on and take a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-13 set victory.

The third set proved to be the most entertaining of the previous two, as Tulane and USF battled to five ties and four lead changes within the first 12 points. With USF leading the Green Wave 6-5, Tulane battled back to go on a 6-0 run and charge out to a 11-6 lead over the Bulls, capped by a Green solo block.

USF found a bit of magic on their own after that, challenging Tulane's lead for the first time all match by netting six of the next seven to tie the set at 12-all. A kill from Hansel and a USF setting error pushed Tulane's lead back to a pair of points at 14-12, giving the Green Wave a bit of breathing room.

While the Bulls would not be able to find the run to eventually overtake the Green Wave, USF pushed Tulane to see the match through and the group delivered by holding the home side to only five more points for the rest of the night as Tulane closed with the 25-17 victory in the third to clinch the sweep.

Tulane will close out its Florida stretch on Sunday afternoon, taking on the UCF Knights at 12 p.m. CT in Orlando. The match will be streamed online via the American Digital Network for free on Facebook and YouTube.

Single-game tickets for the 2019 season can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging into TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

Follow Tulane volleyball on social media at @GreenWaveVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

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