Tulane Volleyball Looks to Break Losing Streak Against Rice
Tulane volleyball will look to snap a four-match losing streak on Wednesday night as it host the Rice Owls inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Field House. The match between the Green Wave and the Owls is slated to start with the first serve at 6:30 p.m. from Uptown.
The Wave rolls into the fourth week of league play with a 1-5 record in The American this season. Tulane suffered losses to North Texas and South Florida over the weekend at home dropping the Green Wave's record in Uptown to 7-3 on the year. The Wave dropped a hard-fought five-set battle on Friday night to the Mean Green 2-3 before losing on Sunday afternoon to the Bulls by a final score of 1-3.
Tulane by the Numbers
284 - Junior Avery Burks ranks 22nd in the nation and second in the American through 17 matches for the Green Wave with 284 total kills.
17.73 - The Green Wave paces the league and ranks third in the nation in digs per set so far this season averaging 17.73 digs per set. Tulane also rates 10th nationally and second in the conference in total team digs with 1,188.
12.85 - Burks leads the country this season in attacks per set averaging 12.85. She also leads the conference and ranks fifth in the nation in total attacks this season with 861.
4.24 - Burks rates third in the conference and ranks 36th in the country averaging 4.24 kills per set.
Tulane vs. Rice
This marks the 34th meeting all-time between Tulane and Rice with the Green Wave trailing series 14-19. The Wave has lost the last four matches against the Owls including going 0-2 last season with a 2-3 defeat in New Orleans and a 1-3 loss in Houston. The last time Tulane defeated Rice came on the road in Houston by a final score of 3-1 on November 10, 2013.
The Green Wave holds a 6-6 mark against Rice in New Orleans despite losing the most recent matchup in Uptown. Tulane last defeated the Owls at home on August 31, 2013, with a 3-0 sweep.
In the two matches last season Burks led the overall offensive attack for the Wave as she tallied 38 total kills against the Owls. The stronger of her two performances came at home against Rice as she posted 27 kills in the five-set battle in Uptown. Rachow set up the offense for Tulane against the Owls last season with 59 total assists including 27 in the home match on September 27, 2024.
Up Next
Tulane will hit the road to Birmingham, Alabama, to take on UAB on Friday, October 17. The match between the Green Wave and the Blazers is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
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.