Final tune-up has Golden Eagles ready for NCAA Tourney opener
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech volleyball team went
through a one-hour closed practice Friday morning in Dayton, a
final tune-up for its 4 p.m. CST match against Tulane University in
the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Fans who have followed Tennessee Tech have kept up-to-date on their
team. So, what's Tulane's take on its match with the Golden Eagles?
Here's the Tulane point of view on Friday's match (from
www.tulanegreenwave.cstv.com):
The Tulane University volleyball team opened the 2008 season with
the expectation to make its mark on the national scene.
On Friday evening, the Green Wave will have a chance to do just
that as the No. 16 nationally-seeded team opens play in its
first-ever NCAA Tournament against Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. in the
Frericks Center on the University of Dayton campus.
"Obviously, this is a very exciting time for this program," Tulane
head volleyball coach Liz Kritza said. "The team is in good
spirits, they feel that they are well prepared and this is a moment
that we have all been working really hard towards the last couple
of years. But at the same time, we have found that balance where we
focus on the task at hand, and for us the task at hand right now is
a really tough match tomorrow night against a quality opponent. I
fully expect Tennessee Tech to challenge us and we are expecting to
advance our level of play tomorrow night.
"We have fared pretty well throughout the conference portion of our
season, but now we have to draw on our experience from our
pre-conference games and some of those teams that we traveled all
over the country and played to get us to this point right now. I am
relying on a good class of seniors and some strong leadership.
These players understand the importance of every single match,
every single set and every single point. I am completely confident
that they will be ready to go tomorrow night and they will
represent this University well as they have all season."
The Green Wave enter the 2008 NCAA Tournament 27-5 on the year,
Conference USA regular-season champions with a 15-1 league record,
and earned an automatic bid to the postseason after winning the
C-USA Tournament with a 3-2 decision over UAB on Nov. 23 in
Memphis, Tenn., at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Tulane has won 25 of
its last 26 matches, including a school-record 16 straight
victories.
As a team, the Green Wave are averaging 14.01 kills, 13.10 assists,
14.60 digs and 2.11 blocks per set. Senior outside hitter Sara
Radosevic leads the squad with 3.56 kills per set, junior libero
Jenn Miller paces the club with 3.88 digs per contest, and senior
middle blocker Jen Linder headlines the team with 1.03 blocks per
outing.
Tulane is hitting .256 (1639-601-4062) on the season while allowing
opponents to attack at a .172 clip (1354-669-3983). Green Wave
opponents are averaging 11.57 kills, 10.81 assists, 13.62 digs and
2.28 blocks per set in 2008.
Tennessee Tech, meanwhile, enters the NCAA postseason 19-12 on the
year, co-champions on the Ohio Valley Conference with a 14-4 league
record, and earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs after winning the
OVC Tournament with a five-set victory over Murray State on Nov. 22
in Cookeville, Tenn.
As a team, the Golden Eagles are averaging 13.39 kills, 12.37
assists, 15.27 digs and 1.92 blocks per set. Leah Meffert leads the
squad with 3.17 kills per set, Katie Kenline paces the club with
4.90 digs per contest, and Jessica Asplund headlines the team with
0.80 blocks per outing.
Tennessee Tech is hitting .214 (1513-637-4103) on the season while
allowing opponents to attack at a .202 clip (1390-597-3930). Golden
Eagle opponents are averaging 12.30 kills, 11.06 assists, 14.57
digs and 2.21 blocks per set in 2008.
"Tennessee Tech is a good, solid ballclub similar to the teams in
Conference USA that have fared well against us," Kritza said. "They
are a very disciplined group that can control their team systems
well, so we expect them to play very good defense against us and
not to be very error prone. They would not be here in the NCAA
Tournament if they were. They know how to play this game well.
Their coaches do a good job of matchups and making adjustments
during the course of play.
"We are expecting a tough match tomorrow night. It is a good thing
that we have had plenty of tough matches this season and we look
forward to raising our level of play with every level of the
postseason."
Friday's NCAA Tournament match between Tulane and Tennessee Tech
marks the third meeting between the two teams, and the Green Wave
hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams,
however, have not played since Oct. 20, 1978, when the Green Wave
defeated Tennessee Tech 15-1, 15-1 in the Memphis Tournament in
Tennessee. The only other meeting between the clubs came on Oct.
23, 1976, when Tulane downed the Golden Eagles, 14-16, 15-1, 15-7,
in Memphis, Tenn.
"We want to remember this history-making season as much more than
just a trip to the NCAAs," Kritza said. "It is much more than that
because it is a realistic goal for us to advance deep into the
tournament. We feel that we still have a lot to prove to the
national volleyball community, the media and to ourselves that we
truly are amongst the nation's elite in college volleyball."
The winner of tomorrow's match will advance to the NCAA Second
Round where the victor will take on the winner of host Dayton and
Western Michigan on Saturday at 5 p.m. for the right to advance to
the Sweet 16.
The Dayton, Ohio bracket is matched up with the University Park,
Penn., bracket - which features No. 1 national seed Penn State,
Long Island, Yale and Ohio - on Dec. 12 on the campus of Penn State
University. The winner of that match will advance to the final
eight and the winner there moves on to the NCAA Volleyball
Championships in Omaha, Neb., from Dec. 18-20.
