Nov. 16, 2004

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team will open play in the 2004 Conference USA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 19, when the Green Wave takes on 11th seeded Charlotte at 7 p.m. in Cardinal Arena.

The Green Wave, which enters the postseason tourney as the No. 6 seed after going 16-9 overall and finishing with a 6-7 mark in league play, will battle a 49ers squad that defeated Tulane during the regular season, but finished the season 19-13 overall and 5-8 in conference action. The winner of the C-USA Tournament receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

"Our goal from day one was to become the first team in Tulane history to make it to the NCAA Tournament," head coach Betsy Becker said. "We've hit a few bumps along the way, and had to adjust our lineup when we lost Katie Case to an injury, but we've still got a chance to accomplish that goal we set back in August.

"Obviously we would like to have a better record, but we like where we're seeded. While it will not be easy, we feel that we got a favorable draw, and I look forward to leading this team onto the court over the weekend in Louisville. They're focused, we've had some very good practices, and the team understands our goal. If we can play to the level that we know we're capable of, I feel we've got a very good chance."

If Tulane is to make history, it will likely have to beat a quartet of teams that defeated the Green Wave during the regular season. In what Becker calls "an opportunity for a bit of revenge," Tulane will have to fend off Charlotte and Marquette - both of whom beat the Green Wave 3-0 earlier in the year - in the first two rounds, and if girls in olive and blue can advance and the other seedings stand up, will battle Cincinnati and Louisville in the final two matches of the tournament.

The highest seed to ever win a C-USA Tournament was the DePaul Blue Demons which entered the championship as the league's No. 5 seed before going 4-0 and defeating second-seeded Louisville 3-2 in the title match in 2001 in Houston, Texas.

"We know what we'll be up against," Becker said. "We've played every team in the tournament, so we know about them and they know about us. Now, it's a matter of going out there, staying true to our game plan and make the necessary adjustments that can often be the difference between advancing in the tournament or going home."

As a team, Tulane leads Conference USA with 17.37 digs per game while ranking third in blocks (2.61) and opponent attack percentage (.170). Offensively, the Green Wave average 15.84 kills per game and are hitting at a .230 clip with 1,378 kills and 564 errors in 3,546 attempts.

The senior trio of Anastasia Kenon, Deva Fowler and Lindsey Norman pace the team with kill-per-game averages of 4.15, 3.73 and 3.14, respectively. Fowler paces the front-line defense with 1.37 blocks per game, and junior libero Kelli Dickson leads the back-row effort with 4.41 digs per outing.

Charlotte, meanwhile, enters Friday night's match averaging 15.24 kills, 13.99 digs and 1.82 blocks per game. The 49ers are hitting .224 for the year (1,798-796-4,471) and have held opponents to a .190 attack percentage (1,464-681-4,119).

Abbey Szlanfucht leads Charlotte with 4.00 kills per game, and Lisa Newell is second on the squad with 3.35 per stanza. Defensivley, Newell paces the 49ers with 1.01 blocks per game, while Holly Kreyling leads the back-line defense with 3.60 digs per contest.

2004 C-USA Volleyball Tournament Bracket
Cardinal Arena - Louisville, Ky.
Friday, Nov. 19
Match 1: No. 8 Houston vs. No. 9 East Carolina, 12:00 p.m.
Match 2: No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 DePaul, 2:00 p.m.
Match 3: No. 7 Saint Louis vs. No. 10 USF, 5:00 p.m.
Match 4: No. 6 Tulane vs. No. 11 Charlotte, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 20
Match 5: No. 1 Louisville vs. Winner Match 1, 12:00 p.m.
Match 6: No. 4 TCU vs. Winner Match 2, 2:00 p.m.
Match 7: No. 2 Cincinnati vs. Winner Match 3, 5:00 p.m.
Match 8: No. 3 Marquette vs. Winner Match 4, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 21
Match 9: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 4:00 p.m.
Match 10: Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8, 6:00 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 22
Match 11: Championship Match, 7:00 p.m.