Oct. 5, 2001

Final Stats

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Captains Erin Dobyanski and Britney Hurst combined for 47 kills as the Tulane University volleyball team defeated Conference USA rival Southern Mississippi, 3-2, Friday evening at the Payne Center.

Hurst led all players with 27 kills and a .440 attack percentage, while Doybanski finished second in both categories with 20 kills and a .415 mark. With the win, Tulane's sixth straight victory, the Green Wave improved to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in league play. Southern Miss, meanwhile, fell to 7-9 on the year and 2-4 in C-USA action.

"It was really refreshing to see our captains step up today and say, 'We are going to win this,' head coach Betsy Becker said. "The led not only in performance, but also in their vocal leadership which is important to our teams success. It was really loud and hostile in here tonight.

"We had a goal to play like viper fish. It has one of the largest mouths of any fish, it's one of the fiercest predators of the deep and it uses its speed to overcome adversity. That was the theme tonight, and we were able to capitalize on it. We had to have large mouths out there tonight and communicate well."

Anastasia Kenon and Deva Fowler joined Dobyanski and Hurst with double-digit kill totals with 16 and 13, respectively. Kenon had a match-high 24 digs, and Hurst was not far behind with 19 of her own.

After a back-and-forth start to game one, Tulane rolled onto a 10-1 run to take a 17-10 lead. USM would respond with an 8-3 run of their own to cut the lead to 20-19, and the Golden Eagles pushed Tulane until the very end. USM actually held game point at 29-28, but Tulane was able to regroup and eventually go on to win, 33-31.

Game two was a different story for the Green Wave, though, as Southern Miss took an early 12-7 lead and never looked back. With a comfortable lead in hand, the Golden Eagles were able to stave off several Tulane rallies and soared to a game-two victory, 30-27.

Tulane took a 3-0 lead to start the third stanza, and stormed out to 14-6 advantage. Leading 20-17, Tulane rattled off nine straight points to set up game point. The Golden Eagles were able to keep the game going for a while, but the Green Wave regrouped and won game three, 30-24.

Much like game two, the momentum was all on the USM bench throughout the stanza. After a back-and-forth beginning and with the teams tied 9-9, Southern Miss went on a 10-5 run and never looked back en route to a 30-19 win.

But in game five, Tulane refused to go back to New Orleans with a loss, and fended off the pesky Golden Eagle club with a 15-11 decision.

The five-game win was the first of the season for Tulane, and marked the first time since Sept. 21 that the Green Wave lost a single game. Before Southern Miss won game two of Friday night's match, Tulane had won 21 consecutive games.

"It was good to get the monkey off our back tonight and earn a five-game win," Becker said. "But give credit to Southern Miss tonight. They played tenacious defense, and we're very fortunate to be leaving with a victory. It's hard to beat a team twice, and they proved that here tonight."

Andrea Bush led Southern Miss with 21 kills as four Golden Eagle players finished with double-digit kill totals. Amy Truong, meanwhile, paced the USM defense with 16 digs.

The Green Wave returns to action on Friday, Oct. 12, when Tulane travels to Missouri to take on C-USA foe Saint Louis at 7 p.m.