Beach volleyball has mixed end to the regular season

Mark Keplinger, Sports Editor

Parker Waters

Since the March window, Tulane University beach volleyball has had a middling April. The squad has gone 6-4 over two tournaments and a home doubleheader. The Green Wave will travel to Huntsville, Alabama to play the South Carolina Gamecocks on April 28 in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Conference Championship.

Tulane traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi on April 8-9 to compete in the University of Southern Mississippi Tournament. The Green Wave started the competition slowly, with a close 3-2 loss to the New Orleans Privateers. Tulane rebounded against the University of Louisiana Monroe with a 5-0 sweep, before finishing the tournament with two 3-2 wins against the University of Central Arkansas and the hosts, USM.

Individually, Lara Torruella and Samantha Mehlman had brilliant tournaments, winning all four of their matches.

A week later, the team traveled to Miami to play in the Florida International University Tournament. Tulane had poor performance, however, losing three of four matches. FIU beat the Green Wave before the Florida Atlantic Owls won in a 5-0 sweep. Tulane rebounded with a 5-0 sweep of their own against Florida Memorial University before being swept by Stetson University.

The Green Wave ended the regular season on a positive note, by beating USM in a doubleheader in New Orleans. On a day where the program honored their seniors, USM was outclassed 4-1 and 5-0. 

Currently, the team is having trouble finding success with their top pairing on court one, usually Maddie Speicher and Kendall Peters. In the last 10 matches, the Green Wave has won on court one just three times. In stark contrast, Tulane has won on court two seven times over the same time period, with the usual pairing being Mehlman and Sara Hall. 

Tulane will look to win the CCSA Conference Championship when they open against South Carolina.

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