The Tulane beach volleyball team had a historic campaign, as reflected in their program-record awards selections.
The Tulane Green Wave beach volleyball team had a historic season, despite falling to the No. 3 UCLA Bruins as the No. 14 seed in the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships. The Bruins would go on to win the whole thing. The Green Wave earned a bid to the championship after their first-ever CUSA championship. Not only did they dominate that tournament, but also the league’s postseason awards.
Conference USA announced six Tulane honorees in their postseason awards, headlined by coach Eyal Zimet earning CUSA Coach of the Year honors. They had a program-record four All-CUSA First Team selections ahead of their first-ever appearance in the national championship.
It marked the second COTY award for Zimet, also winning the award in 2024. It was well earned for the first-ever conference championship and bid to the NCAA national dance. Tulane finished the year 26-13, which extended their 20-plus win seasons to six straight. In total, they had five All-CUSA honorees, which is the most by any team in the conference this season, and the four first-team selections are the most in Green Wave history.
Leading the way with honors were the top flight duo of Molly Trodd and Skylar Ensign. Ensign earned her third All-CUSA selection and third first-team honor while Trodd captured her third nod and first first-team appearance, previously being selected twice to the second-team. The duo went 29-8 across the top two flights, finishing 17-4 at No. 1 and 12-4 and No. 2. The pair were named CUSA Pair of the Tournament following the win, and hold five ranked victories. They also both earned AVCA Top Flight recognition at both top flights, becoming the only pair among 80 honored nationally who earned Top Flight status at two different flights.
Following them up were Katie Hansen and Emma Morris, who both earned first All-CUSA recognition and were named to the CUSA All-Tournament team. The pair combined for 27-11 across the top two flights, going 10-6 at No. 1 and 17-5 at No. 2. They entered nationals on a hot 12-match winning streak, which was the longest by any pair for the Wave this season. They notched four ranked wins. The pair also earned AVCA Top Flight recognition at the second flight.
Amirah Ali earned second-team honors, which was her first All-CUSA honor. She set a program record for wins at the third flight in a single season, going 25-13. She was primarily paired up with Tawny Ensign, and the pair combined for a 20-8 record, which was also a program record at flight three for a pair. They earned three ranked wins, including the win to seal the CUSA championship over Florida Atlantic, with Ali delivering the match-clinching kill.
Their season ended in the first round of the championship, but it was a historic one to be celebrated, as reflected in the numerous awards.