Nov. 16, 2000

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Tulane utilized one of its best offensive matches all season to eliminate 11th-seeded Memphis from the Healthy Choice Conference USA Tournament. The sixth-seeded Green Wave posted a 3-1 (15-4, 9-15, 15-5, 15-5) victory over the Tigers on Thursday evening, earning a quarterfinal date with third-seeded Louisville on Friday at 6 p.m.

With the win, Tulane improved to 17-14 on the season, its best mark since the 1994 squad posted its last 20-win campaign. Memphis closed the year at 13-20.

In the opening game, Tulane recorded 16 kills in 19 attempts (.789) for a 15-4 win. Memphis battled back to take the second game, 15-9, forcing Tulane to hit -.085. However, the Green Wave rekindled its offense in the final two games, hitting a combined .452 (33-5-62) to seal the win.

Tulane coach Betsy Becker-Ferrer knows that a balanced lineup keys any team's postseason success.

"I liked the way we spread our attack. We weren't so one-dimensional," she said. "Lauren Jones-McClain (10 kills, three digs, three block assists) and Britney Hurst (14 kills, .522 hitting percentage and eight total blocks) did a great job for us tonight."

Memphis was led by Emily Eichmann (12 kills, six digs), Ginger Garrett (10 kills, six digs) and Laura Stoke (10 kills, three digs). Senior April Harriman finished her Tiger volleyball career with 1,011 kills. Coach Carrie Yerty felt that her team never got into sync offensively.

"I thought we played timid and didn't execute our game plan," Yerty said. "It's unfortunate the season ended the way it did. We really stepped up our play at the end of the season."

MEMPHIS	4	15	5	5

TULANE	15	9	15	15

STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Kills: Sentmore (TUL) 17
Attempts: Harriman (MEM) 39
Assists: Witte (TUL) 54
Digs: Reese and Sentmore (TUL) 16
Hitting Percentage: Jones-McClain (MEM) .625, 10-0-16
Service Aces: Dobyanski and Witte (TUL) 2
Total Blocks: Hurst (TUL) 8

- C-USA -