Aug. 10, 2004

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team added a pair of new faces on Tuesday as outside/right-side hitter Blair Moon and middle blocker Chelsee Hurley joined the team on the eve of preseason practice, head coach Betsy Becker announced.

Hurley comes to Tulane after playing at Lamar University last season where she led the Cardinals and ranked third in the Southland Conference in blocks as a true freshman. Moon, meanwhile, did not play volleyball last season while completing her associates degree at Houston Community College, but did earn Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team honors while at Georgia Tech during the 2002 season.

Moon - the daughter of former All-American quarterback and NFL great Warren Moon - and Hurley will be eligible to play right away, and both will have three years of eligibility remaining. The addition of the two sophomores brings the total number of newcomers to the Green Wave program to six, joining true freshmen Brittany Esser, Lindsey Karlin, Sarah Weiland and Angela Wiggins.

"We are extremely happy to have Blair and Chelsee join the team for the upcoming season," Becker said. "Both of them have played a year of Division I volleyball already, so it will just be a matter of incorporating them into our system rather than the adjustment from high school to college volleyball. They're both extremely talented players, and I expect both of them to contribute to the team right away."

As a rookie in 2002, Moon played in 20 matches and 48 games with the Yellow Jackets, averaging 2.15 kills, 1.42 digs and 0.44 blocks per game. She posted double-digit kill totals in five consecutive matches in which she played from Oct. 6-Nov. 2, posting a career-best 14 kills vs. Clemson (10/11), Duke (10/15) and Wake Forest (10/19), and averaging 2.91 kills-per-game during that stretch.

Moon also recorded four straight double-digit dig performances during that time, including a career-high 19 vs. Clemson. In addition, she tallied four multiple-block outings, including a career-high five vs. Florida State (10/6).

A native of Missouri City, Texas, Moon was a three-year standout at Elkins High School where she helped the team win a trio of district championships and three straight trips to the state semifinals. As a senior in 2001, she was named first-team All-American, all-state, All-Greater Houston Area and all-region.

Hurley, meanwhile, was a starter as a true freshman last season at Lamar where she averaged 1.53 kills and 1.09 blocks per game. She paced the Cardinals in blocks per game, block assists (78) and total blocks (94), and ranked fifth in kills per game. She posted three double-digit kill outings, with a career-best 15 coming at Southeastern Louisiana (10/17).

After playing sparingly early in the season, Hurley wound up hitting .300 or better three times after Sept. 20, including a career-best .417 attack percentage in the season finale vs. Texas State where she tallied seven kills and just two errors in 12 swings. In addition to her offensive prowess, she posted 18 multiple-block outings, including nine matches with five or more blocks, and a career-best 11.0 stuffs vs. Northwestern State (10/4).

A native of Monument, Colo., Hurley was a four-year letterwinner at Rampart High where she helped the Rams win four consecutive Metro District titles, earn three straight city and region championships, and finish third in the state playoffs in 2002. As a senior, she earned all-state, all-conference, all-league, all-region and all-district honors after leading the team in blocks. She graduated as the school's career blocks leader, and set the Rampart High single-match blocks record as well.

Moon, Hurley and the rest of 2004 recruits join a solid core of returning players, including All-American middle blocker Deva Fowler and second-team All-Conference USA outside hitter Anastasia Kenon. Other returning starters are junior setter Katie Case and senior outside hitter Lindsey Norman.

Senior Iman Houston, junior Kelli Dickson and sophomore Sara Thorson round out the 13-member Tulane volleyball roster, and the squad opens preseason practice on Wednesday, Aug. 11 in Fogelman Arena. The Green Wave open the regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 1 when they play host to Prairie View A&M at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE.