.png)
.png)
Volleyball Opens 2010 Season at IPFW Invitational
8/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2010
TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa volleyball team opens the 2010 season this weekend at the IPFW Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind., with three matches against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament in 2009.
The Golden Hurricane opens the tournament Friday against the hosts, IPFW at 6 p.m. CT. Saturday, TU plays Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 10 a.m., and concludes the tournament at 3:30 p.m. against Saint Louis.
Live stats for the tournament will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/ipfw/wvball/.
"We're excited to get going," head coach Ed Allen said. "We have three quality teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year that we're going to get a chance to measure ourselves against. We're excited to find out what strengths and weaknesses this team has. We certainly have some ideas going into it, but we have not been tested against anyone outside of our gym. I think it's going to be interesting to see how our new players react, and to see the progress of the core of kids that we are going to lean on through the course of the year - Tyler (Henderson), Jess (Adams) and Hannah (Stout)."
Tulsa returns three players named last season to the All-Conference USA teams, and all were named to the Preseason All-C-USA team. Sophomore Tyler Henderson was a 2009 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and the C-USA Freshman of the Year, while senior Hannah Stout and sophomore Jessica Adams were 2009 All-C-USA Second Team selections. Meanwhile, TU returns starters in junior outside hitter Kelsey Hancock and sophomore setter Jordan Clampitt, as well as senior middle blocker Shaylin Werner and sophomore defensive specialist Shelbi Pitcher.
Newcomers for the Hurricane include sophomore transfers Diana Silva and Miriele Gobbo, freshmen outside hitter Kellie Culbertson, middle blocker Elizabeth Kale, setter Nicole Hragyil and defensive specialist Caitlin Dyche. Stephanie Heim is a junior college transfer at defensive specialist.
Friday's match will be the first meeting between Tulsa and IPFW. The Golden Hurricane lost its only meeting with Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a 3-2 decision in 1991. TU trails in the all-time series against Saint Louis, 9-5, and all matches were played between 1976 and 1993. In the most recent of the meetings, TU defeated the Billikens, 3-0 in 1993.
For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane. Become a fan of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane page on Facebook - www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane.
