Tulane University’s beach volleyball team finished the first day of the Chanticleer Challenge with a 1-1 record, sweeping Georgia State 5-0 after a narrow 3-2 loss to No. 15 Florida Atlantic. The matches took place Friday at the Coastal Carolina Beach Volleyball Complex in Conway, South Carolina.
The morning began with a rematch against Florida Atlantic, who had also defeated Tulane in last season’s Conference USA championship dual. The Owls secured victory by winning the fourth, second, and fifth flights. Despite falling behind early, Tulane narrowed the gap when Amirah Ali and Tawny Ensign won their match at flight three in straight sets (21-12, 21-11). Emma Morris and Katie Hansen closed out the dual for Tulane with a three-set win at the top flight (21-10, 26-28, 15-10), resulting in a final score of 3-2.
In the afternoon session against Georgia State—both teams receiving votes in the AVCA coaches poll—Tulane delivered a strong performance by winning all five matches while dropping only two sets. Molly Trodd and Skylar Ensign opened with a win at flight two (21-16, 21-6). McKenzie Cutler and Sam O’Connor needed three sets to claim victory at flight four (21-13, 12-21, 15-13). At the top spot, Morris and Hansen secured another sweep (21-18, 21-17) to clinch the overall win for Tulane. Avery Burks and Gigi Gallegos overcame a setback in their second set to take flight five (21-15, 18-21, 15-11), while Ali and Tawny Ensign completed their match with consecutive wins (21-17, 21-17).
Looking ahead to Saturday’s schedule at the tournament, Tulane will face No. 4 Cal Poly at 7:00 a.m. CT before taking on host Coastal Carolina at 11:00 a.m. CT.
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