Tulane Closes Regular Season with Victory

Saturday, April 18

New Orleans, LA

8:30 AM

Tulane University

Florida International University

Photo by: Parker Waters

Apr 18, 2026 | Women's Beach Volleyball

By: Wyatt Streett

ELMWOOD, La. – The Tulane beach volleyball rounded out its regular season with the final day of the NOLA Classic at White Sands Volleyball Courts Saturday. After senior day festivities opened the morning, the Green Wave went 1-1 across its two duals on the day, falling 3-2 to Florida International (FIU) before defeating Southern Miss to close the day. Tulane finishes the regular season at 22-13.

The morning began with senior day ceremonies as Tulane honored its six seniors and the seniors of the other five teams competing in the NOLA Classic this weekend. Honored this morning for the Green Wave were Amirah Ali, McKenzie Cutler, Emma Morris, Sam O'Connor, Molly Trodd, and Giorgia Walther.

After honoring the seniors, Tulane hit the sand to take on conference foe FIU in a tightly-contested match-up. Tulane started off with the early lead, as Morris and Katie Hansen claimed a sweep at the No. 2 pair with sets of 21-11 and 21-15. FIU pushed back to tie the dual at 1-1 with a victory at the No. 4 pairing. The match went a full three sets as Cutler and O'Connor won the first frame 21-18 before the Panthers rallied for wins of 21-11 and 15-12. At the top flight, Trodd and Skylar Ensign fell in two sets. They dropped a close 21-17 first set before pushing the second set to extra points despite dropping it 22-20. The Panthers clinched the dual at flight three with a win over Ali and Tawny Ensign. Both sets were 21-16. However, Tulane closed the dual on a high note, winning at flight five in three sets. Avery Burks and Lauren Mann opened with a 21-17 triumph before losing a narrow second set 21-19. In the decisive frame, the Tulane tandem prevailed 15-9.

Tulane looked to close its senior day on the right note against Southern Miss to finish off the day. The Wave took the early lead with a sweep by the No. 2 pair of Hansen and Morris, who won a battle of a first set 24-22. They closed out the match with another tightly contested set of 21-19. However, the Golden Eagles pulled level in the dual with a three-set win at No. 4. Cutler and O'Connor won set one 21-19 before falling 21-14 and 17-15 in the following frames. The fifth flight also went to Southern Miss, who won both sets by a score of 21-19 to pull ahead 2-1 in the dual. The top flight of Trodd and S. Ensign dropped their first set 21-15 before fighting back to win the second 21-19. They took the third 15-10 to even the dual, which was sealed just moments later when Ali and T. Ensign polished off their sweep (26-24, 21-15) at the third flight. Tulane claimed the win 3-2.

With the regular season now over, Tulane will set its sights on the Conference USA Championship, which will take place April 23-25. Action begins this coming Thursday at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, Louisiana. The Wave enter the tournament as the runner-up of the past two editions.

Tulane 2, FIU 3
1 – Kiki Drozd / Brianna Luoma (FIU) def. Molly Trodd / Skylar Ensign (TULN) 21-17, 22-20
2 – Emma Morris / Katie Hansen (TULN) def. Nicole Robison / Hanna Gubik (FIU) 21-11, 21-15
3 – Kendra Brown / Isabella Pereira (FIU) def. Amirah Ali / Tawny Ensign (FIU) 21-16, 21-16
4 – Lauren Coady / Elizabeth Nye (FIU) def. McKenzie Cutler / Sam O'Connor (TULN) 18-21, 21-11, 15-12
5 – Lauren Mann / Avery Burks (TULN) def. Hailey Prodan / Maddy Wade (FIU) 21-17, 19-21, 15-9
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5

Tulane 3, Southern Miss 2
1 – Molly Trodd / Skylar Ensign (TULN) def. Laurel Dennis / Sadie McAda (USM) 15-21, 21-19, 15-10
2 – Emma Morris / Katie Hansen (TULN) def. Zuzanna Michalska / Abigail Lewis (USM) 24-22, 21-19
3 – Amirah Ali / Tawny Ensign (TULN) def. Kitija Martini Adamsone / Giovanna Gurgel Bahia (USM) 26-24, 21-15
4 – Y-Nhu Do / Iustina Corcoz (USM) def. McKenzie Cutler / Sam O'Connor (TULN) 19-21, 21-14, 17-15
5 – Ryann Thomas / Margarita Grigoreva (USM) def. Gigi Gallegos / Giorgia Walther (TULN) 21-19, 21-19

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