HATTIESBURG, Miss.—McNeese volleyball capped off the final day of the Southern Miss Invitational here Saturday with a straight set victory (25-16, 25-16, 25-7) over Grambling to end the tournament with a 1-2 record.
 
As the tournament went on, the Cowgirls improved in all aspects of the game and it was evident in both matches Saturday.
 
"Another two solid matches for our team today," said head coach Ashleigh Fitzgerald. "We played really well against a very long and much improved Tulane squad this morning. Against Grambling, we played really controlled volleyball with a good level of energy. I'm thrilled we had contributions from so many payers this weekend and I'm confident we will continue to improve against Mississippi State on Sunday."
 
McNeese will continue its road trip to Starkville, Mississippi on Sunday for a 2 p.m. match at Mississippi State.
 
McNeese dominated Grambling throughout the match despite have as many as four freshmen on the court. Two freshmen (Katelyn Elliott and Keegan Nelms) both led the Cowgirls with nine kills apiece. Haley Schneider, who was named to the all-tournament team, picked up seven kills and three blocks. Senior libero Bridget Justis was steady in the backcourt and came away with 15 digs.
 
McNeese suffered a heartbreaking five set loss to Tulane (25-19, 13-25, 22-25, 26-24, 7-15) to fall to 0-2 on the season.
 
Just like in Friday's match against Southern Miss, the Cowgirls jumped out to an early lead in the Tulane match with a 25-19 first set win.
 
Tulane came back to win the next two sets 25-13, 25-22 to take a 2-1 overall lead. The Cowgirls' offense struggle a bit in both sets after hitting .378 as a team in the opening set.
 
McNeese fought back to even the match at two sets apiece with a come from behind win in the fourth set. The teams traded points until the Cowgirls took a 17-15 lead on an Alexandra Aguilera ace and a Tulane error. McNeese extended its lead to 21-17 on back-to-back errors by the Green Wave. McNeese held off a Tulane run as they cut the McNeese lead to 23-21. McNeese scored the next two points on kills by Aguilera and Schneider to even the match at two sets apiece.
 
Tulane jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set and the Cowgirls could never recover. A few attacking and service errors saw the Cowgirls facing a 10-5 deficit before Tulane went on to pick up the 15-7 fifth set victory.
 
McNeese had a trio of players with double figure kills. Nelms led the Cowgirls with 13 kills and three service aces. Senior Rebecca Korenek had 12 kills and freshman Haley Schneider picked up 10. Aguilera dished out a career high 41 assists to go along with her 11 digs. Bridget Justis led McNeese with 17 digs while Adison Giambrone picked up 14, Aguilera and Angela McGownd both had 11. Hailee Showers hit .533 on eight kills and 15 attempts without an error. Schneider ended with a .471 attack percent.