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Oct. 30, 2004

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Senior outside hitters Lindsey Norman and Anastasia had 15 kills each, and senior middle blocker Deva Fowler added 11 of her own, but the Green Wave's bid for a storybook come-from-behind victory fell short as the Tulane University volleyball team dropped a 3-1 contest to C-USA foe Cincinnati Saturday evening at Fogelman Arena.

After dropping the first two games, 30-19 and 30-20, the Green Wave stormed back with a 30-26 victory in game three and held a 19-15 lead late in game for. From there, however, the Bearcats went on a 15-7 rally to end the stanza and clinch the match with a 30-26 victory.

"I think that, overall, we fought hard against them," head coach Betsy Becker said. "We've got to do a better job of coming out of the blocks and finishing games. Cincinnati is a very good team, and we were just a few points away from taking them to five games. We decided to serve tougher instead of funneling it at one player, in addition to the fact that we maximized pushing the ball out to the pins.

"I'm proud of the team for picking up their defense in games three and four, and we out-dug a very good defensive team (63-57). We have to carry the balanced attack we showed tonight into next weekend and into the rest of the season. I think we were able to gain some confidence in our ability tonight, and that bodes well for the rest of our matches in 2004."

Tulane hit just .203 for the match, but bounced back from a dreadful start to hit .248 over the final three frames. After getting out-blocked 8-3 after the first two games, the Green Wave defense awoke after the break to post nine blocks to Cincinnati's eight. Junior libero Kelli Dickson led all players with 16 digs, and freshman setter Brittany Esser posted a team-best 44 assists.

Tulane got off to a rough start, falling behind early 14-4 and hitting just .032 for the stanza. The situation was the same in game two as the Green Wave trailed 10-5 early on. Tulane cut the lead to just one on several occasions, but with the Bearcats leading 18-17, Cincinnati went on a 12-3 run to end the game and take a commanding two-games-to-none advantage into the locker room at the break.

Game three was altogether different. Neither team went on any significant run, but it would be the Green Wave that weathered the storm en route to a four-point win. It looked as if Tulane would do it again in the ensuing contest, but the Bearcats got hot down the stretch to take the match in four.

Middle blocker Rachel Torblaa led four Bearcat hitters with double-digit kill totals with 16. Julie DuPont was next for Cincinnati with 15, while Maria Pongonis and Myanna Hellsten posted 14 each. DuPont led the UC defense with 13 digs, and Pongonis led all players with nine blocks, including three solo stuffs.

The Green Wave returns to action on Friday, Nov. 5 when they travel to Milwaukee, Wis., to battle league foe Marquette at 7 p.m. Tulane will then play at DePaul on Nov. 6 before returning to Fogelman Arena on Nov. 9 where it will take on Jackson State at 7 p.m.