Tulane Beach Volleyball Lose a Pair to Close out Carolina Trip
The Green Wave faced a steep challenge Saturday morning and could not recover in the following dual, dropping a pair on the final day of the Chanticleer Challenge at the Coastal Carolina Beach Volleyball Complex. Tulane lost 5-0 to No. 4 Cal Poly before coming up just short in a 3-2 battle against the host Chanticleers. The results move Tulane to 6-7 on the season.
An Early Morning in the Carolinas
The morning began bright and early against the highest-ranked opponent Tulane has seen thus far in No. 4 Cal Poly. The Mustangs also presented the Wave its first sweep loss of the campaign, as Tulane fell 5-0 in the dual. The Wave lost 21-16, 21-19 in the second flight before dropping a 21-15, 21-15 match at flight four. The Mustangs clinched the match with the fifth flight winning 21-11, 22-20. Tulane’s third flight fell 21-16 and 21-19. The final match to wrap up was the No. 1 pairs, which saw Emma Morris and Katie Hansen for Tulane push the match to three sets. Cal Poly claimed the first set 21-14 before the Wave tandem pushed back with a hard-fought 21-19 victory. The third set, however, went to the Mustangs 15-10.
Tough Finish against the Home Team
Tulane, receiving votes in the latest AVCA coaches poll, looked for a bounce back against the host Chanticleers but could not overcome Coastal Carolina at its home facility. The dual was the first true road contest for the Wave this season. Molly Trodd and Skylar Ensign opened the dual with a sweep at the second flight, winning handedly 21-11 and 21-12. The fourth flight went to Coastal 21-13, 21-12 to even the dual. The fifth flight was next and went a full three sets as Avery Burks and Gigi Gallegos notched a win for the Wave. They claimed the first set 21-9 before falling 25-23 in the second. The Wave pair then won in the third 15-10 to push Tulane ahead 2-1 in the dual. Coastal came back, however, winning the top pair 21-19 and 21-16 before claiming a sweep at the third flight 21-14, 21-16, to secure the dual.
The Green Wave returns home next weekend to host the Bayou Beach Duals at White Sands Volleyball Courts. Competition begins on Friday, March 13, with a pair of duals against Central Arkansas and UTEP.
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.