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Oct. 23, 2004

Final Stats

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Senior outside hitter Lindsey Norman posted 12 kills and junior setter Kelli Dickson had 33 assists and 15 digs, but it was not enough as the Tulane University volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Conference USA foe Charlotte Saturday night at Halton Arena.

One night after coming from behind in all three game for a straight-games win over league foe East Carolina, the Green Wave were not able to produce a repeat performance as the 49ers won tight contests in the first two games, 30-27 and 31-29, before rolling in game three for a 30-20 victory. With the loss, Tulane falls to 13-5 on the year and 4-3 in C-USA action. Charlotte, meanwhile, improves to 18-8 overall and 4-3 in league play.

"We had a rough week as a team, losing setter Katie Case for the year, and we're still in the process of reestablishing themselves," head coach Betsy Becker said. "Charlotte is 100 percent better than they were last year, and you have to give them credit for the way they played.

"We had a 29-27 lead in game two and got tentative. If we would have stayed aggressive and won that game, there could have been a different outcome. Now, we have to go back to practice, get better, and get ready for Louisville and Cincinnati next weekend. We're confident we can do this, and I think we'll be up to the challenge."

Four 49ers posted double-digit kill totals, including a match-high 17 by Abbey Szlanfucht, as Charlotte posted a .275 attack percentage (57 kills, 18 errors, 142 attempts) and held the Green Wave to a .179 mark (40-19-117). Tulane out-dug Charlotte 57-49, but it was the 49ers who came out on top in every other statistical category. The 49ers had nine blocks to Tulane's six, 47 assists to the Green Wave's 36, and seven service aces to the visitor's one.

Game one was a back-and-forth battle throughout as the biggest lead of the game was four. After falling behind 19-15, Tulane rallied back to tie it up at 25-all, but Szlanfucht had four kills over the final seven points to give Charlotte the victory.

The second stanza followed a similar script as the two teams virtually traded points during the first 56 serves. Tulane held game point at 29-28, but the 49ers got a pair of kills from Lisa Newell and took advantage of a Green Wave hitting error to score the final three points and take a two-games-to-none lead into the locker room at the break.

Tulane refused to go away, playing tough in the early part of game three. But with the Green Wave trailing 10-9, the 49ers had a 6-0 run and three 4-0 rallies to walk away with a convincing game-three win.

Norman was the only Tulane player to finish with a double-digit kill total, while senior middle blocker Deva Fowler and senior outside hitter Anastasia Kenon had eight each. Kenon joined Dickson in the 10-plus dig club with 11.

With Szlanfucht leading the way for Charlotte, the 49ers also got 13 kills from Newell, 12 from Cori Dayton and 10 from Jessica Oldenburg. Dayton tied Dickson for match-high dig honors with 15, and Holley Kreyling and Szlanfucht finished with 11 and 10, respectively.

Tulane returns to action on Friday, Oct. 29, when the Green Wave plays host to C-USA foe Louisville at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.