Oct. 7, 2004

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team will look to keep its home record unblemished over the weekend when the Green Wave play host to Conference USA foes Saint Louis and Memphis at 7 p.m. in the friendly confines of Fogelman Arena on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Green Wave enter the matches 8-3 overall, 1-1 in C-USA play and a perfect 5-0 at home. The weekend slate will prove to be a tough one, however, as both the Billikens (8-9, 0-1) and the Tigers (16-4, 1-0) have combined for 24 wins in 37 matches so far in 2004.

"This is a very critical home stand for us as a team," head coach Betsy Becker said. "They are both quality teams in Conference USA, and in order for us to reach our goal of being on the vanguard of the league, we are going to have to play very well this weekend.

"Saint Louis and Memphis played each other last weekend in a very tight five-game match. They are similar in play and style, and obviously caliber. But it's nice to be here in New Orleans and have the home-court advantage."

Senior outside hitter Anastasia Kenon, who played in her first two matches of the year last weekend in the Green Wave's Texas swing, leads the team with 4.89 kills per game, and senior middle blocker Deva Fowler paces the team in kills with 158 and ranks second in kills per game with a 4.16 average.

Fowler also leads the defensive play at the net with 1.39 blocks per game, while junior libero Kelli Dickson paces the back-row players with 4.54 digs per outing. Senior outside hitter Lindsey Norman is second on the team in digs per game (3.11) and is fourth on the squad in kills per stanza (2.92).

As a team, the Green Wave are averaging 15.68 kills per game and hitting at a .242 clip with 596 kills and 236 errors in 1,489 total attacks. In comparison, Saint Louis averages 15.23 kills per game and hits .241 (975-385-2451) while Memphis has marks of 16.28 and .240 (1,172-505-2,777).

The two opponents also feature some of the top players in all of Conference USA as Saint Louis' Aida Antanaviciute ranks among the national leaders with 6.33 kills per game, and Memphis' Tiara Gilkey produces 4.03 kils and 3.41 digs per outing.

For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE. In addition, live stats will be provided via Gametracker on the internet at the official website of Tulane Athletics - www.tulanegreenwave.com.