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Nov. 13, 2004

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The senior quartet of Deva Fowler, Iman Houston, Anastasia Kenon and Lindsey Norman went out in style as the Tulane University volleyball team won a 3-0 decision over Conference USA foe USF Saturday evening in the final regular-season home game of 2004 in Fogelman Arena.

The foursome combined for 41 kills, 28 digs and 11 blocks in their final game in front of the home crowd, including 13-kill, 10-dig, two-block performance by Kenon. With the 30-16, 30-26, 30-25 win - Tulane's third straight 3-0 victory - the Green Wave gain some much-needed momentum going into next week's C-USA Tournament while improving to 16-9 on the year and 6-7 in C-USA action. USF, meanwhile, falls to 8-18 overall and 6-6 in conference play.

"This one was for our seniors," head coach Betsy Becker said. "They've done so much for us over the last four years, and it was good to see them all play well in their last match here at Fogelman. We had a good, solid attack all night, and when the game got tight, we kept our composure to win it in three. I'm proud of the way we played as a team, and it is good to have a winning streak under our belts going into next week's conference tournament."

While it was the senior's night to bask in their glory, it was freshman right-side hitter Sarah Weiland who led the Tulane offense with 15 kills, and joined Kenon in the double-double category with 11 digs. Kenon was next for the Wave with 13 kills, while Fowler and Norman chipped in with 12 each.

Junior libero Kelli Dickson paced the Tulane defense with 21 digs, and rookie setter Brittany Esser tallied 47 of the Green Wave's 52 assists, and posted her fifth double-double of the year with a career-best tying 10 digs.

As a team, Tulane hit .250 with 58 kills and 23 errors in 140 attempts, and Weiland led the squad with a .407 clip (15-4-27). The defense, meanwhile, held the Bulls to a .169 mark on 41 kills and 18 errors in 136 swings.

Tulane took command of the match early on, jumping out to a 12-4 lead to start game one. The lead grew to 11 15 serves later at 21-10, and the Green Wave were able to continue increasing its advantage in the 30-16 victory.

The Bulls, however, did not roll over in the ensuing stanza as the two teams treaded the first 24 points. But with the score knotted at 12-all, the Green Wave used a 4-1 run to take a 16-13 lead they would not relinquish. USF battled back to tie things up at 24, but once again, Tulane would answer and outscore the visitors 6-2 the rest of the way en route to a 30-26 decision.

Game three followed a similar script as the two teams traded blows over the first 38 serves to make it a 19-19 game midway through the stanza. From there, Tulane went on an 11-6 run to end the game and clinch the match with a 30-25 win.

Flavia Silveira was the lone Bulls player to post a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs. USF got solid efforts from Michelle Stalbaum and Kristina Fabris, who tallied nine and eight kills, respectively, and Stalbaum was second on the squad with nine digs.

The Green Wave returns to action on Friday, Nov. 19, when they open play in the 2004 Conference USA Tournament in Louisville, Ky. Tulane's opponent has yet to be determined. The championship game of the C-USA Tourney is slated for Monday, Nov. 22, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.