April 14, 2008

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane volleyball team picked up a pair of wins at the Texas Tornados Spring College Tournament over the weekend, taking 2-1 decisions over USC, a team which advanced to the final four in the fall, and Texas A&M.

In the second match of the day, the Green Wave took on an Southern California team which advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. Tulane downed USC in the best of three match, 2-1. After falling in game one, 31-29, Tulane stormed back with a 25-18 win in game two, and a 15-10 win in game three.

The Green Wave then faced Texas A&M and needed extra time to dispatch the Aggies, 25-21, 19-25, 20-18. Tulane jumped out to an early 10-2 lead in game one, but the Aggies rallied in game two. Texas A&M led the first-to-15 third game, 10-9, but the Green Wave answered with four consecutive points to go up, 13-10. The Wave held match point six times, but the Aggies fended off the first five before closing the match with an ace.

Tulane opened the tournament with a loss to New Mexico State, 26-24, 25-19. As the Aggies went on to share the tournament crown with an undefeated record, along with national champion Penn State.

The Green Wave also fell to Baylor in three, 25-20, 23-25, 8-15.

Tulane will host its own spring tournament on Saturday at the Reilly Center on Tulane's campus. The field will feature UNO, Alabama, Jackson State, Louisiana Tech, Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Miss.

The showcase match will be at 4 p.m., as the Green Wave take on Alabama in a best-of-five match in the Reilly Center, between the football team's spring game (at 1 p.m. on the adjacent Westfeldt Practice Facility) and the baseball team's 6 p.m. contest against Southern Miss at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.