Volleyball Opens Conference Tournament With Houston Friday

TULANE GREEN WAVE (20-9 OVERALL, 10-6 AMERICAN)
When:	Friday, Nov. 22 \| 5 p.m vs. Houston (16-15, 10-6 The American)
Where:	Orlando, Fla. \| The Venue at UCF
Tournament Central:	2019 American Athletic Conference Tournament Homepage
Notes:	Houston
Social:	T witter \| Instagram \| Facebook

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Tulane volleyball team heads to Orlando, Florida, to open play in the 2019 American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship as the tournament's fifth seed, taking on the fourth-seeded Houston Cougars at 5 p.m. CT at The Venue at UCF Friday evening.

The Green Wave, one of the six league teams to make the inaugural event, are on the same side of the bracket as No. 1 Cincinnati, as the winner of Friday's game will play the Bearcats in the semifinals Saturday afternoon. SMU, the league's No. 2 seed, will play the winner of third-seeded UCF and sixth-seeded Tulsa in the other semifinal Saturday.

Tulane comes into the event with a 20-9 overall record and 10-6 record in the American Athletic Conference. The team finished tied for second place in the west division behind the Mustangs, with the Cougars holding the tiebreaker to finish as the higher seed heading into this weekend's event.

The team had its four-game winning streak snapped to close the regular season against Memphis last Sunday, as Tulane looked to grab hold of first place in the division and the bye in the tournament after defeating SMU in Dallas just days before. The loss to the Tigers sets up a third meeting between the Green Wave and Cougars this year, as the season series was split with each side winning on the road.

Tulane is 4-0 in games held at neutral sites this season.

The team will be led into the tournament by its pair of All-American Athletic Conference First Team selections in Lexie Douglas and Kayla Dinkins.

Douglas leads Tulane with 336 kills and is averaging 2.92 kills per set playing in every match this season. The junior leads the Green Wave with 11 double-doubles this season, as she is third in digs with 293, averaging 2.55 per set, while also being third in service aces with 32.

Dinkins currently leads the league and ranks fourth in the country in total blocks with 162 and eighth in blocks per set averaging 1.46 per set. She is second on the team in kills with 246, averaging 2.22 per set, while hitting .305 on the year which is the second-highest on the squad this season.

Tulane's trio of setters will look to have the team firing on offense this week, led by Amanda Giardina with her 552 assists and 5.26 assist per set average. Jenna Ibieta is second with 361 assists and 4.88 assist per set average and Taylor Heingsman's 253 assists and 4.69 assist per set average.

Senior Kaylie McHugh leads the team in digs with 516 digs this season, averaging 4.53 digs per set. Makala Heidelberg is second on the squad with 355 digs and averages 3.66 per set.

Tulane has won one tournament title in its history, coming in 2008 when the program was still a member of Conference USA.

The winner of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The first four games of the tournament will air live on the American Digital Network, with the final Sunday airing on ESPNU at 12:30 p.m. CT.

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

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Volleyball Opens Conference Tournament With Houston Friday

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Players Mentioned

Kayla Dinkins

Lexie Douglas

Amanda Giardina

Makala Heidelberg

Jenna Ibieta

Kaylie McHugh

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