Tulane University
8-9,5-3AAC
USF
6-6,3-3AAC
Volleyball Takes Down USF in Four Sets Saturday
Mar 20, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
TAMPA, Florida — The Tulane volleyball team (8-9, 5-3 AAC) wrapped up its weekend with a four-set win (25-17, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21) over USF (6-6, 3-3 AAC) on Saturday in The Corral.
"Our serving was key in getting USF in trouble," head coach Jim Barnes said. "We played much better defense and Anna [Davis] had a terrific match hitting and blocking. Now we prepare to finish the regular season at Tulsa. A place in the conference tournament is completely within our control."
As a team, Tulane outscored USF in kills (52), blocks (nine), assists (44) and digs (60).
Freshman middle hitter Anna Davis led the way for the Green Wave in the win, recording a career-high 15 kills while hitting .833. Davis' hitting clip is the second best in program history, topping Lindsey Shepard's .824 percentage from 2010.
Davis also recorded a career-high seven blocks in the match, one solo and six assists. Junior right side hitter Yvette Burcescu had five blocks in the match, also adding seven kills.
Notching double-digit kills in the victory was freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Martin and senior outside hitter Lexie Douglas with 10 each. Martin also led the Olive and Blue in service aces with three and in digs with 13, earning a double-double.
Junior setter Taylor Henigsman totaled 40 assists and 10 digs in four sets on Saturday, while freshman libero Sophia Ervanian added 12.
Tulane came out rolling in the first set, as a 12-1 run put the Green Wave ahead 18-10 to start. Three service aces from Martin, along with three kills from Davis and blocks from Davis, Burcescu and Henigsman, helped Tulane take an eight-point lead. USF went on a 3-0 run to close the gap toward the end of the set but the Olive and Blue held on before taking the first, 25-17.
The second set marked a back-and-forth game to start before a 3-0 run, with a kill from Martin, a solo block from Davis and another block from Davis and Henigsman, put Tulane up 12-10. The Green Wave stayed strong at the net in set two, as back-to-back blocks from Davis and Burcescu helped the Olive and Blue to solidify the win at 25-19 and take a 2-0 match lead.
USF jumped out to an early lead in the third with a 9-3 score, staying ahead until an 8-2 Green Wave run tied it up at 13-13. A kill from Dinkins following a Bulls timeout put the Olive and Blue ahead by three at 23-20 but a 5-0 run from South Florida ended the set as the home team took it, 25-23.
Both teams were tied at the start, before a 4-0 USF run put the home team ahead at 13-10 and forced a Tulane timeout. Back-to-back kills from Martin and junior middle hitter Kayla Dinkins helped the Green wave cap off a 5-0 run, putting them ahead by two at 18-16. The Bulls closed the gap to one with a 21-20 score but a 4-1 Olive and Blue run, with two kills from Davis, finished it out at 25-21 as Tulane took the match, 3-1.
The Green Wave are set to head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, next weekend in their final weekend of regular season action, competing against the Hurricanes on Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday 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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