The Tulane Women’s volleyball team beat Temple University in a best of five set match, 3-2, ending their losing streak at two games. Tulane is now 2-0 against Temple this year, sweeping the season series. This was a much needed win for the Green Wave, as their last win came on Oct. 22 against East Carolina University. 

Tulane won the first and third sets 25-16 and 25-21 and lost the second and fourth sets 25-22 and 25-20, but were able to close it out 15-7 in the last set. The first four sets were back and forth, with an average of 7.25 ties and three lead changes throughout, but the last set was all Tulane. The only tie was 1-1, but after that the Green Wave outscored Temple 14-6.  

This win brings their record to 14-10 on the year, but 2-3 in their last five games. Three of their last four wins have come from the fifth set, showing that the games have been close until the end. However, only one of their last four losses have come from the fifth set. 

Lexie Douglas led the way with 27 kills on 42 attack attempts, resulting in a 64.3% success rate when attacking. Douglas also led the way with 28 points, double that of the next highest scorer, Michelle Urquhart, with 13.5. Taylor Henigsman led the way with 50 assists, more than ten times that of the next player, who had four. 

On the defensive side, Henigsman also led the way with 14 digs, but there were two other players, Sophia Ervanian and Lizzy Stefanov, who reached double-digit digs as well. Anna Davis had half of the team’s eight blocks, along with a .375 kill percentage, playing well on both sides of the ball. As a team, Tulane had less attack attempts than Temple, 151 to 155, but had more kills, 66 to 55, as well as a higher hit percentage, 29.1% to 21.9%.

The next match is against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes on Friday, Nov. 5. With Tulane as the home team, the game should be winnable, as the Green Wave are now 6-2 at home this season. Since November of 2019, Tulane and Tulsa have matched up four times, with Tulane winning all four games, earning a combined set score of 12-3 over that span. With a win in November, Tulane can tie their longest winning streak against Tulsa with 5. 

The last time Tulane won five straight against Tulsa was from September 2007 to September 2009. However, Tulane has won 19 of the 35 matchups all time against Tulsa, and the team is looking to extend that record. Their most recent meeting came on September 26, with Tulane shutting Tulsa out 3-0, winning each set by an average of 10 points. The Green Wave led in many statistical categories, including points, kills, aces, blocks, assists and digs.