Nov. 17, 2006

Box Score

Houston, Texas - Despite a 30-kill performance from sophomore All-Conference USA outside hitter Sara Radosevic, the fourth-seeded Tulane volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a 3-1 loss to the fifth-seeded UAB Blazers in the Conference USA Volleyball Championship quarterfinals Friday at Hofheinz Pavillion (30-20, 27-30, 25-30, 28-30). Radosevic hit .387 with 17 digs for her 12th double-double of the season, but Tulane ends its year at 15-11.

C-USA Freshman of the Year Ksenija Vlaskovic turned in 19 kills on .300 hitting with 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, and third straight.

The Green Wave hit .311 for the match and fell to 14-2 on the season when out-hitting an opponent, as UAB used 12 service aces to offset a .290-.311 hitting discrepancy.

Freshman libero Jenn Miller, a Second Team All-Conference USA and C-USA All-Freshman Team member, recorded 20 digs to become the first Tulane player ever to dig out 500 balls in a single season. She breaks Karlyn Daly's single season recorded of 494 digs in 2003 with 507.

Sophomore middle blocker Jen Linder, a Second Team All-Conference USA pick, added 10 kills without an error, hitting .556, while sophomore setter Luna Rebrovic chipped in her eighth double-double with 36 assists and 10 digs. Freshman setter Rachel Lindelow added 28 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Boatwright hit .357 with six kills and four blocks.

With her third 30-kill match of the season, Radosevic moves up the single-season career list to seventh, with 495. For her career, she now has five 30-plus kill matches, and five of the top eight single-match kill totals in Tulane history.

"This loss is very painful for this young group, but we will remain focused and do something very difficult but important, turn this into a productive step for this program despite the heartbreaking ending to a stellar season.," head coach Liz Kritza said.

"Ksenija's finish to her first season of collegiate volleyball, including today's 23-point performance, is indicative of the caliber of player she will develop into before the next conference season. Sara led the way for this young team with her 32 point performance today, but her contribution to this team far exceeds her ability to score points. She will be called upon time and again to be a mature, positive example for her teammates as we continue to build this program. Jen Linder had an error free offensive performance and her performance throughout the season earned her Second Team All-Conference honor. We look for her to continue to contribute to this program."

With game one tied 12-12, back-to-back aces from Rebrovic sparked a 13-1 run as Tulane took control for an eventual 30-20 win. The Green Wave slugged .472 in the first frame with 21 kills (nine by Radosevic).

The Blazers stormed back, opening up to a 9-3 lead in game two, but the Green Wave rallied back to tie the game at 24-24. But the Blazers reeled off three-straight points and tied the match with a 30-27 win.

Tulane fell behind in game three, 8-3, but closed the gap to 20-18 before a block assist from Wells and Boatwright tied the match at 20. UAB used a 7-2 run to slam the door and take a 2-1 lead with a 30-25 win.

In game four, UAB took a 19-16 lead and the Green Wave trailed by five as late as 24-19. After a pair of kills and an ace by Radosevic, Tulane pulled within 24-23 and tied the match 28-28, but the Blazers put the match away with a 30-28 finish.

"I challenged this team to try to grasp the true meaning of team very early in their playing careers, sometimes we were able and sometimes, like today we fell short," Kritza continued. "Once we can grasp that concept consistently, our success will be a logical conclusion rather than an unexpected surprise. This is a special team and even-though we came up short today, I am incredibly proud of them. These young women have faced challenges and situations that no college volleyball team has ever experienced before. They have stared those challenges in the face and have risen to them time and again."

"We have only one direction to look and that is forward. I have no doubt that we will continue to progress in the right direction. Nobody can dispute that the future of this program is bright with four All-Conference players returning next season."

UAB is now 25-9 after winning its 11th-straight match, and advances to the semifinals, Saturday at 6 p.m. against top-seeded Tulsa (27-6), which defeated eighth-seeded SMU, 3-0 earlier in the first quarterfinal match.

Ivana Bozic paced UAB with 24 kills, hitting .321 with 20 digs, while Fernanda Domingos added 17 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Nevena Stefanov recorded five service aces. The Blazers serving advantage was the difference with 12 aces against seven errors as Tulane recorded seven aces against 10 service errors.

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