NEW ORLEANS --- HCU concluded the Tulane Invitational by taking down tournament host Tulane in four sets (22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-23) at Devlin Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. After falling in the opening set, the Huskies rallied to win three straight and claim their fifth victory of the season in their final non-conference match.

The Huskies (5-7) grabbed an early, 6-3, lead in the opening set off a kill by sophomore Grace McLaughlin before Tulane stormed back to tie the game at 7-7. Back-to-back kills by Sara Arroyo helped HCU push the lead to 18-14, but Tulane would then score eight of the next nine points to take the lead. Kills by Anna Gadway and Cassidy Drapela closed the gap to a one at 22-21, but Tulane would hold on down the stretch and take a 1-0 lead in the match. 

HCU controlled the early stages of the second frame, and a 4-0 burst helped open up a six-point advantage heading into the media timeout. Consecutive kills from Drapela pushed the lead to 18-11 before Tulane would make a rally, closing the gap to 19-16 on two straight kills by Amarachi Osuji. The Huskies would hold off the Tulane charge, winning by six to even things at one game apiece.

In the third set, the Huskies jumped out to a 7-2 lead, finished off by a Tatiana Evans ace. The lead was just three however at 15-12 before HCU pulled away with a 5-1 run, highlighted by three put-aways by Arroyo. Tulane would get no closer than four the rest of the way and the Huskies held a 2-1 advantage.

Game four started with Tulane holding a slim 9-7 margin before the Huskies tallied four straight points ending with a Gadway kill. The Green Wave weren't about to go away, storming back to knot things up at 16, then forced an HCU timeout leading 21-17. The Huskies would then go on an 8-3 run, with back-to-back kills by Drapela sandwiched by kills from Gadway, giving HCU the win in four.

HCU was led by Arroyo with 19 kills while Drapela added 16 kills and Gadway recorded 12 kills and two blocks. McLaughlin dished out a season-high 50 assists to go along with eight digs. Kaley Feris paced the HCU defense with 23 digs.

Tulane was led by Avery Burks with 14 kills and 17 digs. Laura Fiabane recorded 25 assists while Lauryn Burrows led the Pelicans back line with 20 digs.

HCU will open defense of it's 2022 Southland regular-season title next Thursday, traveling to Thibodaux to take on Nicholls. The match will open a daunting stretch of five matches in 11 days for the Huskies, who were picked first in the SLC preseason poll. The Huskies will return home next Saturday when they host UIW at 1 pm in Sharp Gym.