Oct. 3, 2008
Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -
Tulane (11-4; 3-0 C-USA) 25 26 27 27
Memphis (11-6; 2-2 C-USA) 14 28 25 25
In a contest dictated by momentum swings, it was Tulane who managed to score when it counted the most as the Green Wave handed Memphis a tough 3-1 loss in Conference USA action on Friday night. Memphis falls to 11-6, 2-2 in C-USA play. Tulane remains undefeated in league play at 3-0, while improving to 11-4 overall.
"There were some huge momentum swings. Tulane would get up and just crushed some balls. Our kids would be down, and then we made a couple of big blocks, there were a couple of bad calls and then a crazy dig lands on the endline. It was an exciting match, though. It was kind of like a grit match where whoever survived the longest was going to win."
Memphis was led offensively by Katlin Inglish's 15 kills and Laura Côté set a team-best 30 assists. The Tigers put up a strong effort defensively, holding the Green Wave to .163 hitting and recording 15 blocks. Freshman Carolyn Baker led all players with eight blocks. She was aided by teammates Emily Underwood and Rebekah Strickland, who both registered five blocks.
Tulane won the opening stanza with relative ease, 25-14, and led the second set by six late in the contest. The Tigers roared back with a 15-7 rally the rest of the way to earn a 28-26 victory and gave the Wave a fight in each of the remaining sets. Tulane, however, was able to put it together when it needed to and sealed the deal with back-to-back 27-25 decisions.
The match, however, came down to one of the most unusual plays. After trailing most of the fourth set, Tulane held match point at 26-25. Following a serve by Radosevic, Memphis controlled the ball and Rebeka Strickland hammered a spike to the left back of Tulane's side of the court. Senior setter Luna Rebrovic laid out to make the dig and her pass sailed over the net and beyond the Tiger defense just in front of the end line to provide the winning point.
Memphis jumped out to an early 3-1 advantage in set No. 1, but Tulane used a 13-2 run to a commanding 14-5 advantage. The Tigers clawed back into the set and made it a four-point affair at 16-12, but the Green Wave responded to out-score Memphis 9-2 the rest of the way to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
It was a similar story in the beginning of the second set as the Wave rolled out to an 11-5 lead early on and held a 19-13 lead later in the stanza. Memphis, however, refused to go away and used an 11-5 run to knot the set at 24. Tulane held set point on three occasions but could not cash in, and the Tigers tied the match at one win apiece on a kill by Katlin Inglish.
The third set was a back-and-forth struggle, but with the score tied at 13-all, Memphis used a 4-1 rally to take a 17-14 lead and force the Green Wave to call a timeout. Following the break, Tulane rallied to tie the score at 18-all, but Memphis appeared to be in control of the stanza seven serves later at 23-20. From there, Tulane tied the match at 23-23 and twice staved off set point, capitalized on a Tiger attack error to set up set point and put the stanza away on a service ace by junior setter Rachel Lindelow.
The see-saw battle continued in the fourth set as the two teams essentially traded the first 24 points of the stanza. The Wave used a 3-0 run to create a little breathing room and led by as many as five at 20-15. Memphis refused to go away quietly and stormed back to make it a one-point affair at 23-22. Following a Tulane timeout, Memphis got back-to-back blocks to establish set point at 24-23. Tulane, however, battled back to set up match point on a kill by Wells and clinched the victory on Rebrovic's overpass.
"I think our kids can look back at the match and see they had opportunities to win, especially in sets three and four. But Tulane, on paper, is a fantastic team. They are the best team in our conference. For our kids to go out and have a chance to win, that is a positive for sure. If Tulane does not win the conference this year and go to the (NCAA) tournament...well, they should. For our team to play with them and show where they can be against a team in the Top 30, that is an exciting match."
Memphis will look to return to its winning form on Sunday, when it hosts UTEP at p.m.
