Tulane University
RV UCF
Volleyball to Take on UCF in AAC Semifinal Matchup Friday
Apr 1, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
| TULANE GREEN WAVE (10-9 OVERALL, 7-3 AMERICAN) | |
| Tournament Central:ย | 2020 American Women's Volleyball Championship |
| When: | Friday, April 2ย | 1 p.m. vs. RV UCFย (14-1 Overall, 8-0 American) |
| Where: | Cincinnati, Ohio | Fifth Third Arena |
| Stats: | Live Stats |
| Watch: | ESPN+ |
| Notes: | Game Notes |
| Social: | Twitterย |ย Instagramย |ย Facebook |
NEW ORLEANS โ Theย Tulane volleyball team (10-9, 7-3 AAC) is set to head into postseason competition this weekend, traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio,ย to compete in the American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship after clinching the second-place spot in the West Division.
The Green Wave will face the No. 1 team in the East Division, UCF (14-1, 8-0 AAC), in the semifinal match on Friday at 1 p.m. in the Fifth Third Arena. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The winner of the semifinal match will compete against the winner of the Houston (No. 1 West) vs. Temple (No. 2 East) match in the AAC Championship on Saturday at 2 p.m.
In their last time out, the Olive and Blue swept AAC West Division opponent Tulsa to wrap up regular season competition, defeating the Golden Hurricane 3-1 on Friday before sweeping them on Saturday.
The Green Wave have put together aย 5-1 record in their last six matches, winning three straight heading into the AAC tournament. In the 2019 AAC Volleyball Championship, Tulane defeated No. 4 Houston in a five-set thriller in the first round before falling to No. 1 Cincinnati in three sets in the second round.
Leading the Green Wave on both ends of the court this season is junior middle hitter Kayla Dinkins. In 71 sets of action in her third season Uptown, Dinkins has totaled 83.0 blocks to average 1.17 per set, ranking third in the conference. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native has also recorded 165 kills to average 2.32 per set. After recording nine blocks (1.29 per set) and 21 kills (3.00 per set) in the team's 2-0 weekend over Tulsa, Dinkins was named to the final AAC weekly honor roll for the second time this season.
The freshmen have stepped up big for Tulane this season, as middle hitter Anna Davis and outside hitter Mackenzie Martin have helped to lead the way for the Olive and Blue offensively. Davisย has totaled 147 kills (2.07 per set) in her first year with the Green Wave, recording a career-high 15 kills on 18 attacks with no errors to hit .833 (the second-best attack percentage in program history) in Tulane's win over USF and being named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week. In Tulane's win over Tulsa on Saturday, Martin totaled 19 kills while hitting .386, also adding 10 digs in her seventh double-double this season. The Port Orange, Florida, native has recorded 171 kills (2.71 per set) and 188 digs (2.98 per set) in her first season on the roster.
Also serving as a consistent leader for the Green Wave's offense this year is senior outside hitter Lexie Douglas, who has recorded 243 kills in 2021 to average 3.42 per set, ranking seventh in the conference in kills per set and in points per set (3.95). Douglas has notched double-digit kills in 14 of Tulane's 19 matches this season, totaling seven double-doubles in her final season Uptown.ย
Defensively, freshman libero Sophia Ervanian ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 4.33 digs per set in her first season Uptown, totaling 251 digs in 58 sets of action. The Green Wave newcomer has recorded double-digit digs in 11 of the team's last 12 matches, recording 30 or more digs in two matches.
Junior setter Taylor Henigsman has paved the way for Tulane's offensive success this season, totaling 535 assists to average 7.99 per set in 67 sets, ranking eighth in the conference. Henigsman has recorded 40 or more assists in seven of the last nine matches, earning a career-high 54 in Tulane's win over Wichita State. The junior has also totaled 14.0 blocks and 25 kills so far this season.
The Green Wave were picked to finish second in the West Division in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Dinkins and Douglas were both named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
UCF is 14-1 overall and has put together an undefeated 8-0 record in conference play, falling only to FSU in five sets on the road on Feb. 26. The Green Wave fell to the Knights in back-to-back 3-1 non-conference matches on Feb. 5-6 earlier this season in Orlando, moving to 10-20 all-time against UCF.ย
The Knights lead the conference in hitting percentage (.267), opponent hitting percentage (.152), blocks per set (2.93) and service aces per set (2.02), ranking second in assists per set (12.57) and kills per set (13.61). The Green Wave hit .226 in two matches against the Knights.ย
Redshirt senior middle blocker Nerissa Moravec leads UCF and The American with a .433 hitting clip and an average of 1.45 blocks per set while junior outside hitter McKenna Melville leads the conference with an average of 4.49 kills per set and 5.12 points per set.
Follow Tulane volleyball on social media at @GreenWaveVBย onย Twitter,ย Instagramย andย Facebook. Follow Tulane Athletics onย Twitter,ย Facebook,ย Instagram.
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