Aug. 17, 2006

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The 2005 Tulane volleyball season was tabbed by many as a rebuilding year as first-year head coach Liz Kritza fielded a team which featured seven true freshmen on its opening-day roster.

The season wound up being a bigger rebuilding process than anyone ever expected as Hurricane Katrina forced the team to relocate to College Station, Texas, and the campus of Texas A&M for the fall semester. While the team showed steady progress throughout the year, including advancing to the Conference USA Tournament semifinals for the first time since 1997, the lessons the Green Wave student-athletes, coaches and administrators learned in the aftermath of the storm helped form bonds that few teams truly experience.

"The experiences of 2005 were like nothing any of us have ever had to go through," Kritza said. "While we would much rather not have had that happen, I think it helped us in ways we will not fully understand for several years. But what it did right away was help the team come together and overcome adversity.

"We showed steady improvement as the season went on, and made a nice run in the Conference USA Tournament. We return the bulk of that team this year, and I think we can use that late run as a springboard into the 2006 season."

With five starters among the seven returning letterwinners - including Sara Radosevic, the 2005 AVCA All-American and the C-USA and AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year, and C-USA All-Freshman Team honoree Luna Rebrovic - the Green Wave are loaded with young yet experienced players. In addition to the two honor recipients, Tulane returns senior Sara Thorson and sophomores Ashley Bernards, Lauren Boatwright, Jen Linder and Bridget Wells. The Green Wave also welcome back sophomore Liz McGehee, who played in Tulane's season opener before transferring to Lehigh for the remainder of the fall semester.

Tulane added three true freshmen during the signing period for the 2006 season - setter/right-side hitter Rachel Lindelow, libero Jenn Miller and outside/right-side hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic.

"With only one senior on the team, we're obviously still going to be a very young team," Kritza said. "But the sophomores on this year's team played a lot last year. Four of them started, and two earned postseason accolades. With the players we return and the players we brought in, I feel we have put together a solid nucleus that will help us take the next step as a program."

OUTSIDE/RIGHT-SIDE HITTERS

The strength of the Green Wave team will once again be its pin attackers as one true outside hitter and a pair of swing players are back for another season. Radosevic headlines the group of returners, and is joined by veterans Thorson, and Wells. Rookie Vlaskovic joins the fold for 2006.

"This is the most experienced of the position groups on our team, and we expect our outside and right-side hitters to carry our offensive load," Kritza said. "Our offense is geared toward creating scoring opportunities against a single blocker, and all these hitters have the ability to put the ball away when they have that opportunity.

"We need major offensive production from our outside and right-side hitters, and all these players will carry additional defensive and passing responsibilities as well."

Last season, Radosevic led the team in points (439), kills (388) and kills per game (5.24) as a true freshman. In addition to her offensive prowess, Radosevic also ranked third on the club in digs (184) and digs per game (2.49).

Her kills-per-game average was second in C-USA, ninth overall in the nation, and tops among NCAA Division I freshman hitters, outdistancing Princeton's Parker Henritze (4.73 k/g) by more than half a kill per game.

"Sara Radosevic is a highly-skilled outside hitter who has experienced success on every level," Kritza said. "She has improved her overall game by stepping up her first contact, and that enables our offense to run more efficiently. She has taken a leadership role in the offseason, and her goal is to lead the team in all areas in 2006."

Thorson has seen time at all three front-row positions during her career, and makes the most of her 6-3 frame to provide an intimidating block on defense. Last season, she played in 64 games for the Green Wave, and ranked third on the team in kills (145) and blocks (41).

"Sara Thorson is the only senior on the team and she wants to finish her career on top," Kritza said. "She is a formidable blocker and provides a solid offensive option for our attack. She has worked hard in the offseason, and I think she will be a big asset to us with her experiences both on and off the court."

The wild card among the Tulane hitters is Wells. As a true freshmen, she played sparingly, but showed flashes of potential late in the year. At 6-3 and a whip of an arm swing, Wells was dominant at times in the Green Wave's spring matches. Last year, she played in 61 games and finished second on the squad in kills (155) while posting 15 blocks. "Bridget is a physical player who has really improved her all-around game," Kritza said. She can generate a lot of force with her size and is developing nicely into a very productive hitter on either pin. If she can continue her improvement throughout the season, Bridget has the potential to be a very big weapon for us up front."

The newcomer to the bunch, Vlaskovic is the latest import to the Green Wave program. She comes to Tulane following a stellar international career where she played six seasons for Pozarevac VBC, helping the squad improve from Serbian B1 League to A2 League standings. A three-year captain of her junior club team, Vlaskovic was also a member of the 2005 Serbia & Montenegro Youth National Team.

"Ksenija is a superior athlete who will be a very productive offensive player for us," Kritza said. "She jumps well and utilizes a fundamentally-sound arm swing. She will have to work hard to develop her serve reception, but with her athleticism, that will come in time. I look forward to watching her develop to get her skill level on par with her athleticism."

MIDDLE BLOCKERS

Last season, the Green Wave started a pair of true freshmen in the middle with Boatwright and Linder in the every-day lineup. Those two, along with Thorson, are now a year older, stronger and wiser after learning on the job in 2005. Vlaskovic may also see time in the middle in addition to playing outside and right-side hitter.

That experience will no doubt pay major dividends in 2006 as the trio will be counted on not only to provide a defensive presence at the net, but also a viable option on offense to help keep opposing defenses from focusing their block along the pins.

"Our middle blockers have primarily defensive responsibilities, but we are hoping to develop a fast tempo as much as possible to create multiple scoring opportunities from all the hitters," Kritza said. "Having productive middles is essential to a well-rounded offense."

The duo of Boatwright and Linder combined to post 230 kills and 138 blocks in 2005. Boatwright led Tulane middles last season in blocks (92), while Linder paced the position in kills (118). Thorson, meanwhile, moved around as a junior and Vlaskovic's athleticism figures to play a major role in the time she sees in the middle.

"Jen is an athletic middle who is quick and is a tenacious blocker," Kritza said. "Lauren is the taller of the two and was able to make more of an impact defensively with her size. Both of them have been working extremely hard during the offseason, and I expect them both to be that much better this year."

SETTERS

The Green Wave have the luxury of having a pair of accomplished setters on the team, but there is only one combined season of college experienced among the two.

Rebrovic returns following a rookie season that saw her claim C-USA All-Freshman Team honors, and Lindelow joins the squad following a standout prep and club career in nearby Mandeville, La. With both players on the roster, Tulane has the option of running a 5-1 or a 6-2 offense in 2006.

"The setter is the quarterback of the team," Kritza said. "They orchestrate the entire offense and need to have a great understanding of the team's capabilities and strategies. Having the flexibility to run two different offenses is a luxury not many teams have. This flexibility will be useful in putting the best match-up on the floor at ay given moment."

In 2005, Rebrovic posted perhaps the best performance by a freshman setter in Tulane history. She average 12.30 assists per game while ranking second on the squad in digs (228) and digs per game (3.08). Pushing her for playing time is Lindelow, who was a four-time, first-team all-district selection and was named first-team all-state her final three seasons at Mandeville (La.) High. She helped her prep squad to the state championship game in each of the past two seasons, and claimed state Player of the Year honors as a senior.

"Luna has been working hard to develop not just her setting skills, but the full complement of volleyball skills," Kritza said. "She also worked on the physical side of the game, namely her strength and speed.

"Rachel is a young player with a high ceiling. She played setter and outside hitter in high school, and by narrowing her focus to just setting, we look forward to having her produce when called on.

LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST

While Tulane returns the bulk of its team from a year ago, one of the key players it will have to replace is 2005 senior Kelli Dickson. Dickson started the previous two years at libero, and become the first player in Green Wave history to post at least 2,000 assists and 1,000 digs in their career.

Dickson's graduation leaves some pretty big shoes to fill, but through the returning players Bernards and McGehee, along with Miller, the Green Wave are not without the talent to do so.

"Everything we do as a team starts with passing and defense," Krtiza said. "They have to stabilize our passing unit and play tenacious defense, and I feel confident in the players we have at that position to do a good job of that once again this year."

Miller is the front-runner for the libero spot after a four-year prep career at San Pedro (Calif.) High where she was twice named to the All-CIF Los Angeles City Section team. As a senior, her first season as a full-time libero, she averaged 11.1 digs per match.

"Jenn is a gifted, young athlete whose prep and club experience has helped her prepare for a seamless transition to the college game," Kritza said. "Even though she is just a freshman, we expect her to be a leader on the court because the position just demands it."

McGehee spent the majority of the 2005 season at Lehigh, where she played in 13 matches, including 11 starts at setter. Her defensive prowess was evident as she posted 92 digs in just 47 games of action. Bernards, meanwhile, played sparingly for the Green Wave last year, tallying 11 digs in 13 games. One of the best athletes on campus, Bernards also ran track during the spring semester.

"Liz is a great team player whose high energy and continual desire to improve has served her well," Kritza said. "Ashley has a very high ceiling because of her agility and quickness, and needs to continue to develop her technique. Both of them have a full season of college experience under their belts, and I think they will both play large roles in the success of our team in 2006."

SCHEDULE

Eleven home matches, three contests against teams that advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, and the first nationally-televised match in Green Wave history highlight the 2006 schedule.

The Green Wave will host the annual Kathy Trosclair Memorial Tournament, and following a pair of tournaments on the road, return to Fogelman where they will play eight of the 16 regular-season Conference USA contests. Tulane's match at Marshall on Sunday, Sept. 24, will be televised live on College Sports Television, marking the first time the team will play before a national audience.

"I'm very excited about our 2006 schedule," Kritza said. "With a young team like ours, a key to a successful season is playing matches that both build confidence and provide challenges prior to the start of Conference USA play. With teams like Minnesota and Dayton in the preconference portion of our schedule, I feel we have done that."

Tulane opens the season against Lamar on Friday, Aug. 25, and continues Trosclair Tourney action on Saturday, Aug. 26, against in-state foe McNeese State and cross-town rival University of New Orleans. The Green Wave open C-USA play at home also, where they will take on East Carolina on Friday, Sept. 22. Other league teams to visit Fogelman Arena during the regular season are SMU (Oct. 6), Tulsa (Oct. 8), Houston (Oct. 13), Rice (Oct. 15), UAB (Oct. 27), Memphis (Oct. 29) and UTEP (Nov. 12).

The Green Wave play a pair of non-conference tournaments on the road, beginning with the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge on Sept. 8-9 in Iowa City, Iowa, and the Diet Coke Classic on Sept. 15-16 in Minneapolis, Minn. At the Hawkeye Challenge, Tulane will take on host Iowa before battling UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City) and Florida Atlantic. At the Diet Coke Classic, meanwhile, the Green Wave will open against Dayton before battling Minnesota and UConn.

After opening the C-USA slate at home and battling Marshall in the CSTV contest on the road, Tulane's road schedule also features stops at Houston (Oct. 1), Tulsa (Oct. 20), SMU (Oct. 22), Southern Miss (Nov. 3), UCT (Nov. 5) and UTEP (Nov. 10).

The 2006 C-USA Tournament is slated for Nov. 16-19 at Hofheinz Pavilion on the campus of the University of Houston, and the winner of the event earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"The goal of every team in the country is to use the preconference portion of the schedule to get ready for conference play, perform well during conference to position yourself for the tournament, and play your best volleyball in the postseason," Kritza said. "I feel we have a chance to do just that, and I am looking forward to an exciting season with a young, but talented group."