The Tulane Green Wave beach volleyball team is back at the Conference USA Championship for the third straight year amid a strong season campaign. The Green Wave are heading to Sugar Beach this weekend in Youngsville, Louisiana with some unfinished business and hopes to get past a runner-up finish. The No. 5 seeded Tulane squad will open against the No. 4 South Florida Bulls in their opening round dual as part of the double-elimination tournament.
The double-elimination format is ahead of the championship dual on Saturday, April 25 at 11:30 am. Should the Wave win, they advance to play on Friday at 10:00 am. Should Tulane lose, they would drop to the contender’s bracket where they would have to compete again on Thursday evening at 5:30 pm. Impressively, they face the Bulls in their first official season of beach volleyball. The only previous meeting between the two squads went to South Florida in a 3-2 win back in February. But the Green Wave have the edge of experience in the CUSA championship, as they’ve made it to the championship bout the last two seasons and are 9-6 all time in championship play since they joined the league in 2023.
The pairs are set as they have this season. Molly Trodd and Skylar Ensign lead the team with a 27-8 overall record and owning a 15-4 record playing primarily at No. 1 as the team’s top flight anchor. The other primary top flight pair is Emma Morrison and Katie Hansen, who are 24-11 on the year and 14-5 at No. 2. The duo or Morris and Hansen is on a heater, with the tandem winning their last nine matches – and their last eight straight at the second flight. It’s their longest streak of their campaign and one short of the 10-streak by a pair set by Trodd and Ensign this season.
Morris and Hansen were recently named CUSA Co-Pair of the Week on Tuesday, which makes them the first Tulane pair honored since 2023 and their fourth all-time. Morris was also named to the CUSA All-Academic Team on April 18. Following them at the third flight is Tawny Ensign and Amirah Ali, who boast a 17-8 record at No. 3.
Tulane enters the weekend 22-13 overall and 1-5 in CUSA play, with each conference loss by a narrow 3-2 margin. After two back-to-back runner-up finishes in the last two CUSA Championships, they’re hoping things are different this year. The Wave went 3-2 last weekend at the NOLA Classic with losses to No. 20 Arizona Wildcats and FIU, both by 3-2. The question will remain: can the team finally break through and claim the CUSA title?