Beach Volleyball Advances to Final Day of the CUSA Championships

YOUNGSVILLE, La. – Tulane Beach Volleyball is currently 2-1 at the Conference USA Championships in Youngsville, LA. The #2 seed Green Wave will contend on championship Saturday, first facing FIU in a rematch of today’s quarterfinal match.

Tulane started the tournament on Thursday with a 3-0 sweep of Tarleton State, taking down the Texans in less than forty minutes.  The Green Wave secured victories on court 3 (Sam Green / Sara Hall), court 4 (Gigi Gallegos / Sam O’Connor) and court 5 (Avery Burks / Amelia Mullen). 

The first-round win propelled the Green Wave to face the #3 seed FIU on Friday morning after they beat Missouri State in their first-round matchup.

Tulane picked up their second win of the tournament with a thrilling 3-1 over the Panthers securing wins on court 1 (McKenzie Cutler / Emily Heintzelman), court 2 (Skylar Ensign / Molly Trodd), and court 5 (Avery Burks / Amelia Mullen).  Cutler and Heintzelman clinched the match as Heintzelman recorded a block on the final point for the victory.

The win advanced the Green Wave to the semifinals on Friday afternoon to take on the #1 seed FAU. FAU advanced to the semifinals with wins over Jacksonville State and UAB.

The Owls avenged their regular season loss to the Green Wave by taking the match 3-1 to advance to the championship game on Saturday.  The Green Wave point came on court 3 (Sam Green / Sara Hall) in straight sets (21-17, 21-14).

The Wave will play FIU in the second semifinal at 9:00am CT on Saturday morning as the Panthers advanced with wins over UTEP and UAB on Friday.  The winner of the match will advance to take on FAU at 11:00am CT for the CUSA Championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Tulane 3, Tarleton State 0

1. Emily Heintzelman/McKenzie Cutler (TUL) vs. Halcomb/Bryant (TAR) 21-18, 16-9, unfinished
2. Skylar Ensign/Molly Trodd (TUL) vs. Schirpik/Huber (TAR) 21-18, 18-10, unfinished
3. Samantha Green/Sara Hall (TUL) def. Brown/Parayno (TAR) 21-11, 21-11
4. Gigi Gallegos/Sam O’Connor (TUL) def. Bendele/Mitchell (TAR) 21-10, 21-11
5. Avery Burks/Amelia Mullen (TUL) def. Chun/Ching (TAR) 21-7, 21-17

 
Tulane 3, FIU 1

1. Emily Heintzelman/McKenzie Cutler (TUL) def. Gray/Panko (FIU) 13-21, 21-16, 15-13
2. Skylar Ensign/Molly Trodd (TUL) def. Vogel/Robinson (FIU) 21-13, 21-12
3. Samantha Green/Sara Hall (TUL) vs. Drozd/Luoma (FIU) 21-19, 20-22, 12-13, unfinished
4. Cahill/Franklin (FIU) def. Gigi Gallegos/Sam O’Connor (TUL) 21-18, 21-15
5. Avery Burks/Amelia Mullen (TUL) def. Chudzik/Brown (FIU) 17-21, 21-16, 17-15

 
Tulane 1, FAU 3

1. Svoilova/Adams (FAU) def. McKenzie Cutler/Emily Heintzelman (TUL) 21-18, 21-11
2. McLaughlin/Honzovicova (FAU) def. Skylar Ensign/Molly Trodd (TUL) 18-21, 21-18, 15-13
3. Sara Hall/Samantha Green (TUL) def. Vandeusen/Wolf (FAU) 21-17, 21-14
4. Gigi Gallegos/Sam O’Connor (TUL) vs. Strandberg/Schroder (FAU) 21-10, 21-23, 11-13, unfinished
5. Starling/Mignerey (FAU) def. Avery Burks/Amelia Mullen (TUL) 21-17, 14-21, 15-8

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