Tulane University
2-4,0-0AAC
UCF
4-0,0-0AAC
Volleyball Drops Four-Set Match at UCF Friday
Feb 5, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
ORLANDO — The Tulane volleyball team (2-4) dropped a four-set match to UCF (4-0) on Friday afternoon at the Venue (25-19, 15-25, 16-25, 22-25).
"We played aggressive volleyball and had our chances," head coach Jim Barnes said. "Kenzie [Martin] and Kayla [Dinkins] were outstanding attacking. When our serve receive stabilizes, we will have a chance to beat anyone."
Freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Martin led the Green Wave offensively, notching a career-high 14 kills while hitting .294. Junior middle hitter Kayla Dinkins was also a powerful force up front, recording seven kills while hitting .400 and adding five blocks.
On the defensive end, junior outside hitter Makala Heidelberg and freshman libero Sophia Ervanian each earned double-digit kills, totaling 12 and 11, respectively.Â
Junior setters Amanda Giardina and Taylor Henigsman each added 20 assists in the four-set match.Â
Tulane was off to a hot start in the first set, with a kill from senior outside hitter Lexie Douglas sending the Green Wave on a quick 5-2 run. A solo block from Martin was followed by a Knights ball handling error to tie the score at 8-8. UCF then took a three-point lead before a 5-1 Olive and Blue run put Tulane up, 18-15. Three consecutive Green Wave blocks put the team up by five at 22-17 before a kill from Dinkins at set point closed it out at 25-19 and put Tulane ahead 1-0 in the match.
The Olive and Blue jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in set two, staying ahead until UCF came back to tie it up at 11-11. A 5-0 run from the Knights put the home team on top, where they would stay for the remainder of the set. Two quick kills from Martin helped close the gap for Tulane, but UCF was able to finish it out with a 25-15 score to even the match at 1-1.
UCF grabbed an early lead in set three, ultimately holding onto it to take a 2-1 match advantage with a 25-16 set score. Kills from Douglas and Dinkins helped to hold the Knights at set point but were not enough to get the Green Wave back on track, as a Knights' kill ended the third.
The Green Wave came out swinging to start the fourth, taking an early 4-1 lead and holding it before a 4-0 run from the Knights tied it up at 11-11. Two kills from Martin and Douglas put Tulane up by one at the media timeout, leading 15-14. Tulane was down by two at 19-17 and came back to take a 20-19 lead, which was followed by a 3-0 Knights run to put the home team back on top, 22-20. A kill from Martin and a block from Dinkins and junior right side hitter Yvette Burcescu tied the score at 22-22, before three points from UCF ended the match at 25-22.
The Green Wave head back on the court on Saturday as they ready to take on the Knights in match two in The Venue at 1 p.m.
Follow Tulane volleyball on social media at @GreenWaveVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
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