No. 20 Tulane Falls Twice to Open Season

Friday, February 20

New Orleans, LA

8:30 AM

Tulane University

LSU

Amirah Ali & Sam O'Connor vs TAMUCC 2026

Photo by: Wyatt Streett

Feb 20, 2026 | Women's Beach Volleyball

Day 1 Results

By: Wyatt Streett

NEW ORLEANS – The 2026 beach volleyball campaign began for No. 20 Tulane Friday at White Sands Volleyball Courts with the opening day of the Green Wave Invitational. Tulane took to the sand twice and lost a pair of duals to No. 12 LSU and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.

The day opened with a 4-1 loss to the 12^th-ranked Tigers early in the morning. Preseason All-Conference USA selections Skylar Ensign and Molly Trodd earned a sweep at the second flight, 21-19 and 21-18. This was Tulane's only match victory in the dual, as the Tigers swept the remaining four match-ups. The exhibition sixth flight went a full three sets as McKenzie Cutler and Giorgia Walther lost the first set 21-14 before rallying for a second-set victory by the same score. The duo pushed the LSU pair to extra points but ultimately fell 18-16.

In Tulane's second dual of the day, the Green Wave squared off against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), but the Wave fell again by a 4-1 score. The third flight notched the lone Tulane win this time, as Amirah Ali and Sam O'Connor swept via 21-13, 21-13 margins. Though suffering a sweep at flight one, Katie Hansen and Emma Morris left it all on the sand, dropping a marathon first set 29-27 before losing a close second set 21-18. Ensign and Trodd claimed the opening set at flight two, 21-12, but the Islanders rebounded for wins of 21-19, 15-10 across the following two frames. Flights four and five went to TAMU-CC by way of the sweep. In the exhibition sixth flight, the Wave claimed a three-set victory. Avery Burks and Gigi Gallegos won the first set 21-15 before the Islanders forced the third frame with a 21-19 victory. The Wave tandem held firm in the last set, winning 15-12.

Tulane is back in action tomorrow for the final day of the tournament at White Sands Volleyball Courts. The Green Wave will play three times, beginning with a contest against Oregon at 8:30 a.m. Match-ups against South Florida and New Orleans will follow at 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively.

TICKETS
Tickets for the football, volleyball and men's and women's basketball campaigns can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

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