Sept. 12, 2007

EL PASO, Texas - - Tulane curtailed a late charge from UTEP for a 3-1 (30-15, 30-24, 25-30, 31-29) win in the Conference USA opener for both teams Wednesday night at Memorial Gym. Sara Radosevic led four Green Wave hitters in double-figure kills with 21.

Sophomore outside hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic added 12 kills while junior outside Bridget Wells chipped in 11 with four blocks. Jen Linder recorded 10 kills and nine assisted blocks.

The Green Wave posted a season-best 13 blocks as a team, as Radosevic, Wells, and Amaris Genemaras each posted four.

Sophomore libero Jenn Miller, the reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, posted 30 digs for the second time in her career.

Tulane improves to 9-2 overall, 1-0 in Conference USA play, while the Miners fall to 6-6, 0-1 in C-USA.

Aidan Mooney pounded a career-high 14 kills and hit a team-best .393, for UTEP. Mooney more than doubled her previous best of six kills. She also chipped in six blocks, one ace and three digs, to post a team-high 18 points for the Miners.

Amy Sanders also registered 14 kills for the match while Elsa Reyes led UTEP in digs with 17 and Daidre Mendenhall put up a career-high eight blocks.

Tulane hit .459 in game one, with Radosevic putting down nine kills on a .571 hitting percentage. Vlaskovic added four while Jen Linder and Amaris Genemaras contributed three assisted blocks each in the 30-15 win.

The Green Wave led 8-3 in game two, but the Miners came back to tie 16-16. But a kill from Vlaskovic and a block by Linder and Wells highlighted a 9-3 run as the Wave closed out the match 30-24.Wells turned in four kills in game two, while Lindsey Shepard added three on four swings.

Back-to-back blocks from Radosevic and Shepard gave the Wave an early 5-4 lead in game three, but the Miners came back for an 11-8 lead on a pair of service ace from Patty Jarmoc. Tulane could get no closer than three points and a kill from UTEP's Aiden Mooney slammed the door on a 30-25 Miner win.

Tulane fell behind 11-6 in game four as UTEP posted two-straight blocks. A kill from Vlaskovic and a service ace from Miller cut the gap to 21-18. A block from Genemaras and Shepard closed the gap to 25-23, Linder pulled the Wave within one at 27-26 but the Miners answered with two points. The Green Wave then reeled off five-straight points, staving off game point three times with blocks from Linder and Wells before a pair of errors helped the Wave take game four, 31-29

The Green Wave, receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll, continue on the road to Arizona State for the Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport Classic on Friday at Saturday. Tulane will take on VCU, Florida A&M and host ASU at the tournament before returning home to face UAB on Friday, September 21.

UTEP is off till Sept. 21, when they resume conference action against Memphis at Memorial Gym. Time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

RECENT RESULTS
Tue., Sept. 11
East Carolina def. UNC-Wilmington, 3-1
SMU def. Texas-San Antonio, 3-0
Southern Miss def. Nicholls State, 3-1
New Mexico State def. UTEP, 3-0

Wed., Sept. 12
* Tulane def. UTEP, 3-1

UPCOMING MATCHES (All times CT)
Thurs., Sept. 13
* Rice at Houston - 7 p.m.
* UAB at Memphis - 7 p.m.
UCF at South Florida Invitational UCF at USF - 7 p.m.

Fri., Sept. 14
East Carolina at George Washington Tournament
East Carolina at George Washington - 6 p.m.
Houston Hosts Houston Tournament
Stephen F. Austin at Houston - 7 p.m.
Wake Forest vs. Rice - 5 p.m.
Marshall at Blue/Green Classic
Marshall vs. West Virginia - 6 p.m.
Memphis Hosts Tiger Invitational
UAB vs. Arkansas State - 4:30 p.m.
Stetson at Memphis - 7 p.m.
SMU at New Hampshire Invitational
SMU vs. Syracuse - 3:30 p.m.
Southern Miss at Alabama State Tournament
Southern Miss vs. Alabama A&M - 9 a.m.
Southern Miss at Alabama State - 2:30 p.m.
Tulane at Arizona State Crowne Plaza Classic
Tulane at Arizona State - 9 p.m.
Tulsa Hosts TU Invitational
New Jersey Institute of Technology at Tulsa - 1 p.m.
North Texas at Tulsa - 6 p.m.
UCF at South Florida Invitational
UCF vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 12 p.m.
UCF vs. George Mason - 5 p.m.

* denotes Conference USA matches