Aug. 11, 2002

NEW ORLEANS, La. - When the Tulane University volleyball team held its first preseason practice Sunday at Fogelman Arena in preparation for the 2002 season, something was noticeably missing.

With the exception of the large Tulane logo in the middle of the playing surface, the word's "Tulane" and "Green Wave" were absent, as were any trademarked T-waves or any team equipment for that matter. Instead of the traditional handing out of the gear as the team has done in years past, fourth-year head coach Betsy Becker decided to make the team perform "Project ETE" - earn their equipment - which was a set of team and position-specific drills.

"I firmly believe that you'll cherish something more if you have to earn them," Becker said. "We're trying to start a new tradition by learning the responsibility that goes with wearing a Tulane logo. Today, we made them push themselves and each other, and that is what we'll have to do all season if we are to be successful.

"I also believe this helped our team bond a little bit. They had to encourage each other through the drills, and it was good to see our players pushing themselves throughout each drill. We had a lot of vocal leaders today, and we also had some of our players show good leadership by example with their strong performances."

The drills performed by the 16-member Green Wave squad included passing skills, attacking, serving and blocking skills. After being given a set of court shoes, socks and knee pads to open the day, players earned various other pieces of equipment, including the team travel bags, practice uniforms and tee-shirts.

Becker said she was not only pleased with the players' acceptance to the challenge of earning their equipment, but also their performance in the drills.

"We have some talent," she said. "Now, we just have to specialize and meld it all together. It helps to have 11 veteran players because they know that we'll expect this kind of performance from them all the time.

"We came out today, and I feel we laid a pretty good, basic foundation and a solid cornerstone of what we want to do in 2002. With a solid foundation, we can execute things at a sophisticated level."

The Green Wave opens the 2002 season on Aug. 30 when they travel to the West Coast to participate in the San Diego State Invitational. Tulane opens its 14-match home season on Sept. 3 with a doubleheader vs. Prairie View and Jackson State. After hosting the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic and the Kathy Trosclair Memorial Tournament, the Green Wave also play host to South Florida (Oct. 11), UAB (Oct. 12), Centenary (Oct. 15), Cincinnati (Oct. 25), Louisville (Oct. 26), Southern Miss (Nov. 9) and Memphis (Nov. 15) in Fogelman Arena.

For season ticket information and single-match ticket prices, call the Tulane Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.