Volleyball Closes Regular Season with SMU, Memphis

TULANE GREEN WAVE (19-8 OVERALL, 9-5 AMERICAN)
When:	Friday, Nov. 15 \| 7 p.m at SMU (17-7, 10-4 The American) Sunday, Nov. 17 \| 2 p.m at Memphis (16-10, 5-9 The American)
Where:	Dallas, Texas \| Moody Coliseum Memphis, Tenn. \| Elma Roane Fieldhouse
Watch:	SMU Memphis
Stats:	SMU Memphis
Notes:	SMU-Memphis
Social:	T witter \| Instagram \| Facebook

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Tulane volleyball team will take its shot at first place in the division and a first-round bye in next week's American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship as the team closes the regular season against the SMU Mustangs and Memphis Tigers on the road this weekend.

Tulane will take on the Mustangs Friday night at the Moody Center in Dallas, before heading to Memphis and taking on the Tigers at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

With 27 matches down, the Green Wave head into the final weekend with a chance to attain one of its early season goals by claiming the league's west division title. Tulane is 19-8 on the season, with a 9-5 mark in the conference after sweeping a pair of matches against Houston and Temple last weekend.

The Green Wave have full control over their fate for the upcoming inaugural edition of the conference tournament next week, as wins over both teams this weekend assures Tulane of the division crown, the No. 2 seed in next week's event and a bye to the semifinals of the championship with just two wins to claim a conference championship.

Tulane has already secured a spot in the conference tournament and will be one of four teams from the division to make the cut along with SMU, who currently lead the division, Houston and Tulsa. The two teams from the east to round out the event are Cincinnati and UCF, with the Bearcats holding the overall top spot after a regular-season sweep of the Knights and 13-1 league record.

With a chance at another key win Friday, as the Mustangs came into the week with an RPI of 50, Tulane has also produced a pretty solid resume for selection of an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament as the Green Wave are 6-4 against teams in the top 75 of the RPI this season. Wins include Cincinnati, Ohio State, the Mustangs, LSU, Tulsa and Bowling Green.

Tulane will put its three-game winning streak on the line this weekend after earning four-set victories over the Houston Cougars in Houston last weekend and the Temple Owls to close out the home slate. While not necessarily running on all cylinders, Tulane was efficient and powerful when it needed to be in putting away both teams when the time came instead of going to potential fifth sets.

Junior Lexie Douglas continued to lead the team at the net with 25 kills last week, averaging 3.12 kills per set. The Texan has 309 kills for the season for Tulane, while being second on the team in service aces and third in digs.

Middle Kayla Dinkins has already etched her name in the Green Wave record book as she currently sits in the top 10 in school history for blocks in a single season with 150, while continuing to move up the single-season chart in assisted blocks with 135. She is second on the team in kills with 227, while hitting .316 on the year.

Leading the team in that last category is freshman Lauryn Green who led all players with a .310 hitting percentage last week and for the season is swinging at a .342 clip. She had 17 kills to four errors, while also proving to be a weapon at the serving line with four aces last weekend.

Sophomore Taylor Henigsman has been producing at a solid level for the Green Wave over the course of the last few weeks, as she led the setters last week with 42 and averaging 5.25 per set. Amanda Giardina continues to lead the group with 552 on the season, having 39 last week.

With the secret out on senior Kaylie McHugh's prowess as an opposite side hitter, the senior still found a way to produce in her normal role defensively as well. McHugh had 10 kills and 37 digs last week, while also serving up nine aces and registering her first career block.

Makala Heidelberg led the team in digs with 42, averaging 5.25 digs per set, and is second on the team to McHugh's 475 digs with 328 of her own.

SMU has only lost two of it 10 matches coming into Friday's showdown, with those losses coming to UCF and Cincinnati. Tulane is 16-13 all-time against the Mustangs, as the last time the two teams met at the beginning of the conference season the Green Wave prevailed in gritty five-setter.

Against Memphis, the Tigers hold a 29-23 advantage over Tulane, with the Green Wave looking to earn just their sixth win all-time in Memphis.

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

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Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.

Volleyball Closes Regular Season with SMU, Memphis

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Players Mentioned

Kayla Dinkins

Lexie Douglas

Amanda Giardina

Lauryn Green

Makala Heidelberg

Taylor Henigsman

Kaylie McHugh

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