April 19, 2008

NEW ORLEANS - The Green Wave won three games at the Reilly Center to win their home tournament Saturday, posting 2-0 wins over Southern Miss and New Orleans and a 3-1 win over Alabama.

"I was pleased with how the team responded in the afternoon session after not having a very strong performance in the morning," head coach Liz Kritz said. "Against Alabama, they played at a high level and really shared the load offensively. We had a balanced distribution on offense, playing without Sara Radosevic. I was a positive note on which to end our spring season."

In the early session, Tulane opened with a 2-0 sweep of New Orleans, 25-22, 25-23. The Wave followed that up with a 2-0 win against Southern Miss by scores of 30-28 and 25-17.

Tulane faced Alabama at 4 p.m. in the showcase match of the event, as part of a "Saturday with the Wave" afternoon of Tulane athletics. In between the Tulane football spring scrimmage and Tulane's 4-2 win over Southern Miss in baseball, the Green Wave volleyball team posted a 3-1 win over Alabama.

A large spirited crowd witnessed Tulane's sweep of games two through four, most recalling that Alabama (16-16 last season) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament instead of the Green Wave (28-6) last season.

"It was a good turnout," Kritza added. "A lot of Tulane fans wanted to support us in this match in light of last year, and their enthusiasm was great. Maybe the cheers and chants and the Hullabaloo at a spring match was part of our team refocusing and playing with a higher level of intensity."

After falling 25-20 in game one, the Wave rebounded with a pair of dominating 25-13 wins in games two and three.

In game four, the Wave closed out the match with a 25-22 victory.

Sophomore outside hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic hit .550 for the match with 22 points, while freshman blocker Lindsey Sheppard hit .750.

The Green Wave scored 13 service aces including three each by Vlaskovic, Liz McGehee, Rachel Lindelow and Jen Linder.

"We really won the passing and serving element of the match," Kritza continued. "We passed at a high percentage -- we counted a 92 percent passing for Jenn Miller -- and really served well."

Radosevic, a three-time AVCA All-America Honorable Mention selection, and Lauren Boatwright, both missed the tournament due to injuries.

Tulane returns all 13 players from last season, including three AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selections and six members of the All-Conference USA teams, under the direction of Kritza, the 2007 C-USA and AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year.