Tulane Volleyball Soars To Best Conference Start in Decades

The Tulane Green Wave have several sports that are excelling in their season campaign, but the Green Wave volleyball team stands atop that list.

Tulane volleyball is 12-2 thus far on the year and boast an undefeated 4-0 slate in conference play. They’ve won an astounding eight games in a row.

The program has roared off to their best conference start in nearly 20 years, and are chasing their best start to league action since opening 5-0 in Conference USA in 2007.

It’s an impressive feat by new Green Wave volleyball coach Derek “Dex” Schroeder in his first season with the team.

He was hired this offseason back in January after previously serving as the head coach at Jacksonville State, Mercer, and Samford.

He brought 17 years of valuable head coaching experience into the building. Schroeder has a 279-234 career record with five conference titles secured.

At Mercer, he led the Bears to more conference wins than any season in program history in his second year and led them to the program’s first SoCon regular-season titles in back-to-back campaigns in 2020 and 2021.

For those efforts, Schroeder earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 2021.

He has a track record of developing stellar student-athletes.

Schroder produced two All-Conference USA performers in his tenure at Jacksonville State. At Mercer, three players earned All-SoCon honors, and Megan Smith won Libero of the Year.

With the Samford Bulldogs, Schroder coached three SoCon Players of the Year, one Freshman of the Year, and one SoCon Libero of the Year.

But at Tulane, Schroder now has a new level of resources and a full support staff that greeted him from Day 1, something that is a marked change from having to find success on his own with fewer resources at smaller programs.

That has translated into a breakout campaign for the team and their longest program winning streak at eight matches since they won 11 in a row back in 2018.

The Wave’s most recent won was a 3-2 victory over Wichita State (4-12, 1-3) on Sunday, highlighted by a career performance by outside hitter Chloe List.

List had a career-high 19 kills and a career-best 21.5 points as she led all players in the contest against the Shockers.

It was the first home conference match of the season for the Wave, and it didn’t disappoint, with Tulane dominating with high energy from the first set.

Up next for the Wave is a pair of home conference matches. The Green Wave will host the Charlotte 49ers at the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Friday, October 9 before the UAB Blazers come Uptown on Sunday, October 11.