Tulane beach volleyball finished its regular season on April 18 with a split performance at the NOLA Classic, held at White Sands Volleyball Courts in Elmwood. The Green Wave honored six seniors before competing in two matches, losing narrowly to Florida International University (FIU) and then defeating Southern Miss.
The event began with senior day ceremonies for Tulane’s Amirah Ali, McKenzie Cutler, Emma Morris, Sam O’Connor, Molly Trodd, and Giorgia Walther. These recognitions included honoring seniors from the other five teams participating in the tournament.
In their first match of the day against FIU, Tulane took an early lead when Emma Morris and Katie Hansen won at the No. 2 pair position. Despite strong efforts from other pairs—including a three-set contest by Cutler and O’Connor—FIU secured a 3-2 victory after winning several close sets. Avery Burks and Lauren Mann contributed another point for Tulane by prevailing in three sets at flight five.
Later that day against Southern Miss, Tulane aimed to end its home schedule positively. Hansen and Morris again led off with a sweep in two tightly contested sets. While Southern Miss claimed wins at flights four and five to go ahead in the dual, Trodd and Skylar Ensign leveled the score by taking their match to three sets before Ali and Tawny Ensign clinched the overall win for Tulane with straight-set victories at flight three.
Tulane concluded its regular season with a record of 22-13. The team will now prepare for the Conference USA Championship scheduled for April 23-25 at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, Louisiana. The Green Wave enters as runner-up from each of the past two editions.
