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Sept. 9, 2003

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University volleyball team made quick work of Louisiana-Lafayette and got off to its best start since 1994 as the Green Wave downed the Ragin' Cajuns 3-0 Tuesday evening in Fogelman Arena.

Juniors Lindsey Norman and Iman Houston tallied 10 kills each to lead the team and the Green Wave had five players post at least seven kills in the victory. Tulane's 6-1 record marks the best start for a Green Wave team since 1994 when the squad started 7-0 en route to a 20-9 finish.

"I thought we started out a little slow and made a good adjustment in game on and made quick work of games two and three," head coach Betsy Becker. "We're a little banged up right now, so we had to use some new players in new positions, but they came in and did a good job for us tonight, and that's the trademark of a good team."

The Green Wave defense was dominant in the victory, out-digging UL-Lafayette 79-57 and holding the Ragin' Cajuns to a .075 attack percentage with 35 kills and 24 errors in 146 swings. Four players posted double-digit dig totals, led by senior libero Karlyn Daly led the way with 19. Senior Lauren Jones-McClain, who played in her first full match of the year after nursing a foot injury, was next with 16 digs, followed by sophomore setter Kelli Dickson with 13 and Norman with 10.

UL-Lafayette hung tough early on, scoring the first point of the match and keeping Tulane's lead to within five for most of the ballgame. But with Tulane leading 24-21, the Green Wave went on a 6-3 run to end the game and take the first stanza 30-23.

The second game was close early on as Tulane clung to a 4-3 advantage early on, but the Green Wave quickly took control of the contest with a 12-1 run to stake claim to a 16-4 lead. The Cajuns rallied to cut the lead to nine at 19-10, but Tulane would not let UL-Lafayette back into the game and cruised to a 30-15.

Game three followed a similar script as the Green Wave jumped out to a 10-3. The Cajuns tried to claw back into the game, cutting the lead to six at 14-8, but Tulane would keep Louisiana-Lafayette at arms reach throughout the contest and win the match-deciding game 30-19.

Lesley Tough paced the Ragin' Cajuns with 12 kills and was one of three players with 10-plus digs as Hollie Girouard posted 13, Beth Henson tallied 11 and Tough had 10. The Cajuns out-blocked Tulane 8.0-6.0, and Stacy Liverett led all players with six, including one solo stuff.

The Green Wave return to action on Friday, Sept. 12 when they travel to Denver, Colo., to open play in the Pioneer Classic against Fordham at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Tulane will take on UC-Riverside and host Denver at noon and 8:30 p.m., respectively, before returning to The Crescent City the following weekend for the Kathy Trosclair Memorial Tournament.