It has often been said that in the face of adversity, true leadership emerges.

Entering the 2005 season, the task was tall for the Green Wave volleyball team as the roster was dotted with seven true freshmen as the program attempted to replace the graduation of four student-athletes. Then, on Aug. 29, the face of the University changed as Hurricane Katrina caused the team to relocate to College Station, Texas, and the campus of Texas A&M for the fall semester.

It was then that Tulane realized what kind of leader it had in then first-year head coach Liz Kritza.

As University President Scott Cowen charged the Green Wave Athletic Department be "carry the torch, be the face and represent the name" of Tulane, Kritza held her players to a high standard and helped lead the club through a very traumatic time.

Not only did the team have to relocated and adjust to life in Aggieland, the Green Wave team wound up losing nearly three weeks of training and competition, including having to cancel 10 pre-conference play dates due to Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which was forecast to hit the College Station area in late September.

Unfazed, Kritza guided her team through it all. The team showed steady improvement throughout the year, and despite finishing with a 3-15 regular-season record, Kritza's club put it all together in the Conference USA Tournament where they Green Wave advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1997.

Along the way, freshman outside hitter Sara Radosevic was named honorable-mention All-America by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, becoming just the second player in Tulane history to earn the honor and the first rookie to do so. In addition, Radosevic was named to the AVCA All-Midwest Region squad and claimed Freshman of the Year honors from the AVCA Midwest Region, Conference USA and Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Radosevic was one of three student-athletes who claimed C-USA individual honors, claiming second-team recognition while senior libero Kelli Dickson was named to the third-team. Radosevic and fellow rookie Luna Rebrovic claimed C-USA All-Freshman Team honors.

While her team earned honors for its work on the court, its work in the classroom did not go unrecognized as Dickson claimed ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI honors. Dickson was also one of three student-athletes to earn C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition for GPA's over 3.25.

Upon the return to campus for the spring semester, Kritza worked tirelessly to get the program back on steady ground. While guiding the team through a full slate of spring contests, she also added a trio of talented incoming freshmen as the foundation for the future of the program continues to be constructed.

While the 2005 season was Kritza's first at the helm of the volleyball program, it was hardly her first with the Green Wave as she was a dominant front-line player for the Green Wave as a student-athlete from 1995-98, served as a student assistant and volunteer assistant in 1999 and 2000, respectively, and worked as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator from 2001-04.

A 2000 graduate of Tulane University, Kritza became the seventh head coach in program history on Jan. 17, 2005. While Kritza helped shape the Green Wave program during her 10-year tenure prior to assuming head coaching duties, she has done even more since assuming the top spot on the coaching ladder. When not busy assembling her staff and taking care of day-to-day affairs in the office, Kritza has been a tireless recruiter. Since taking the rains of the team, Krizta added a total of 11 newcomers to the team, and explored international recruiting ties with the addition of three foreign players since the start of the 2005 season.

As an assistant, Kritza was instrumental in helping the Green Wave post winning seasons from 2001-04, including 20-wins seasons in 2002 and 2003. During that time, Kritza was involved with nearly every aspect of the program, including serving as recruiting coordinator, coaching the middle blockers, designing serving and blocking schemes and coordinating practice schedules, team travel and scouting, as well as monitoring the team's budget and academic progress.

With Kritza on the sideline, Tulane has been among the C-USA leaders in blocks per game, ranking third in the league in 2001, finishing fourth in 2002 and 2004, and pacing the conference in 2003. Her drills helped middle blocker Lauren Jones-McClain claim C-USA All-Freshman Team honors in 2000 and Deva Fowler earn All C-USA honors in each of the past two seasons as well as honorable mention All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2003.

In her role as academic supervisor for the team, members of the volleyball team earned C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition on 56 occasions, including eight during the 2004-05 school year, and the team has posted a cumulative 3.0 GPA from 2002-04.

And while Kritza has been instrumental in helping her student-athletes keep a stronghold on both their athletic and academic growth, it is nothing she has not done herself. As a player, Kritza was a dominant front-row defender and led C-USA as a junior with 1.41 blocks per game, set a Tulane single-season block assist record with 154 that year, and paced the team in blocks as a senior with 121. Voted team captain as a senior, she completed her collegiate career fifth in the Tulane record book with 319 total blocks and ranked eighth in attack percentage with a .222 mark.

Kritza also helped the 1996 Tulane women's track and field team win the C-USA championship, throwing the javelin. She was also active outside athletics where she was a member of the Tulane Student Athlete Advisory Board from 1996-2000, including serving as vice president in 1998, and was a member of Tulane's prestigious 3.0 Club and the Dean's List.

Kritza came to Tulane after a tremendous prep career at St. Mary's High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she twice led the team to the state championship as her team went a combined 90-8 with four postseason appearances. She earned all-state, all-conference and all-area honors her final three prep seasons, and as a senior, was named Colorado 3A/4A Player of the Year, claimed a spot on the All-Colorado Team and was selected to play in the state's All-Star Game.

At the club level, Kritza played for Boulder Volleyball Club from 1994-95 and helped the squad claim a regional and national ranking. She received her first head coaching job at the club level where she coached the USVBA/Colorado Elite 12-and-under Junior Olympic team for the 1995 season. Her first coaching position came as an assistant at Divine Redeemer Middle School in her hometown where she served from 1993-95.

An active member of the New Orleans and Tulane communities, Kritza is a board member for Girls First, a non-profit organization for underserved girls in the Metro New Orleans area, as well as the T-Club and Tulane University's Letterwinner's Association. With Girls First, she has helped the organization grow from 35 girls in 1998 to 145 in 2004. In addition, Kritza has participated in the NO AIDS task force and Habitat For Humanity.

Kritza, whose brother Ted played basketball for the Green Wave, completed her bachelor's degree in finance and cell biology from Tulane in 2000 and is currently pursuing her master's in business administration. She is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association and United States Volleyball Coaches Association, and completed the USA Volleyball Coaches Accreditation Program.

The Kritza File
Personal
Born - Oct. 10, 1977
Hometown - Colorado Springs, Colo.
High School - St. Mary's, 1995
College - Tulane University, 2000
Degree - B.S. Finance and Cell Biology

Playing Experience
St. Mary's High School - 1991-94
Boulder Volleyball Club - 1994-95
Tulane University - 1995-98

Coaching Experience
Divine Redeemer Middle School (assistant) - 1993-95
USVBA/Colorado Elite (head coach) - 1994-95
Tulane University (student assistant) - 1999
Tulane University (volunteer assistant) - 2000
Tulane University (top assistant/recruiting coordinator) - 2001-04
Tulane University (head coach) - 2005-Present

Coaching Highlights
-Guided Tulane to its first C-USA Tournament semifinal match since 1997
-Helped Sara Radosevic claim AVCA All-America honors and claim Freshman of the Year recognition from the AVCA Midwest Region, Conference USA and Louisiana Sports Writers Association
-Opened the door for international recruits, including three on the 2006 squad
-Helped three student-athletes earn All C-USA honors, and another to the ESPN The Magazine All-District VI Team
-Four of her players earned C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition
-Helped Kelli Dickson become the first player in Tulane history to record at least 2,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs