Take a Look at the Tulsa Volleyball Team

An air of excitement and optimism surrounds The University of Tulsa volleyball team this season as second-year coach Ryan Wills returns a bevy of upperclassmen to go along with an infusion of newcomers.

The Hurricane enters the 2015 campaign going for its 11^th consecutive 20+ win season, the longest streak in program history. Tulsa climbed to as high as second place in the American Athletic Conference in its inaugural season as a league member in 2014. Tulsa won 14 of its final 16 league matches last season, and will look to carry that momentum into the 2015 season that opens Friday against three-time National Champion Nebraska.

The Golden Hurricane returns 11 letterwinners, including four seniors and four juniors among the mix. Tulsa looks optimistically at the season ahead with power players returning in the likes of senior Ashley Hooper and juniors Brooke Berryhill and Erica Bohannon. A group of six newcomers, three of whom have national championship experience after leading their junior college team to back-to-back NJCAA titles, bring a ton of skill and will provide valuable contributions to the rotation.

With leadership from the upperclassmen and contributions from the newcomers, the 2015 Hurricane looks to compete for the American Athletic Conference Championship and a return to the NCAA Tournament, that has escaped the Hurricane the last two seasons.

"We've had a lot of new players in the gym so it's nice to watch them get after it, and kind of figure out who can do what and determine their strengths. Preseason camp was fun watching how these players fit together," Wills said. "With a solid core group of players returning, I know that when it gets to the 23^rd point in a set how they're going to respond."

"We finished conference play really well, and we have to build on that," said Wills. "Even winning 14 of our last 16 matches, I think we all know that we could have finished a little better. It's nice because we have that momentum, but at the same time we realize that it's a whole new season and there are a lot of things that we can do to get better."

Middle Blocker
Tulsa returns its pair of impact middle blockers from 2014 in seniors Ashley Hooper and Nicole Newton. The two experienced players provide a solid defensive and blocking presence at the net.

Both Hooper and Newton played in all 31 matches and 117 sets in 2014. Hooper led the Hurricane in blocks with 89 for an average of 0.76 blocks per set and tallied 256 kills, while Newton totaled 180 kills and 88 blocks.

Sophomores Ebony Carter and Jaime Rahilly also return to the middle blocker position. Rahilly played 37 sets, while Carter saw action in 17 sets.

Outside Hitter
The Hurricane returns two outside hitters with junior first-team all-conference selection Erica Bohannon and senior Paige Panfil. Bohannon started all season on the left side, while Panfil played in all but three matches. Tulsa has added skillful junior college outside hitters Trinity Alualu and Rebecca Reeve, both from Blinn College. Tulsa also welcomes two freshmen in Emily Thorson and Rachel Moore.

Tulsa looks to Bohannon to carry a big portion of the offensive load again this year. Last season, she tallied a team-high 472 kills (4.03 kills per set) and a .190 attack percentage in 1,394 attempts, while playing in all 31 matches and 117 sets for the Hurricane.

This year, Bohannon is one of four unanimous selections to the preseason all-conference team.

"It's always nice to have all-conference players on team. She's the leading kill-getter in the American Athletic Conference coming back," said Wills. "Bohannon transferred from the right side to left side last year, and I don't think she really figured out the position until four or six matches remaining on the season. It was fun to watch her at the end, because she really started to figure out how to play that position. I'm excited to see her play the entire season on the left side."

Panfil played in 28 matches and 106 sets, while accumulating 192 kills (1.81 kills per set) and a .188 attacking percentage on 560 attempts. Her total blocks were 45 (0.42 blocks per set) and 217.5 points (2.05 points per set).

Among the newcomers, Reeve was named to the 2014 NJCAA All-America first-team and was the NJCAA Tournament MVP as well. She helped lead her team to a two-year record of 80-4 and two NJCAA titles. In 2014, Reeve led her team offensively by tallying 375 kills and recording 436 points. Reeve also recorded 56 total blocks, 262 digs, and she had 19-double digit kill matches.

Reeve's JUCO teammate, Alualu, earned second-team NJCAA All-America honors in 2014. She ranked second on the team logging 315 kills, 249 digs, and 51 service aces last year. In her time at Blinn JC, Alualu totaled double-digit kills in 12 matches and 11 matches with double-figure digs.

Thorson will play on the right side for the Hurricane and has shown that she can contribute immediately for the Hurricane. In her four-year career at College Park High School, Thorson accumulated 1,324 kills, 1,238 digs, 143 blocks, and 108 service aces. As a senior, she had 419 kills, 400 digs and 29 service aces.

Moore has the ability to play outside hitter and middle blocker for the Hurricane. In her four-year career at Heritage Hall High School, she helped lead her team to an Oklahoma Class 5A state title as a junior and senior. Moore was named the Class 5A state tournament MVP her senior season.

With returning experience and the addition of four skilled newcomers, the Hurricane will have good depth and power at the outside hitter position.

Setter
Tulsa welcomes back junior Alissa Apecechea and brings in sophomore transfer Sophie Bethke to play the setter position for the Hurricane. With Apecechea's experience and Bethke's precision setting, the Hurricane should be able to put its attackers in good position to execute plays.

Apecechea recorded 19 digs and 51 assists for the Hurricane in her first season after transferring from UC-Riverside prior to the 2014 season.

A transfer from the University of Arkansas, Tulsa gets a player in Sophie Bethke, who is a very accurate setter and at six-feet tall has the ability to become an attacker at any moment. She played in nine sets and had two matches where she posted 31 assists for the Razorbacks.

Defensive Specialist/Libero
The Hurricane returns a pair of junior defensive specialists in Brooke Berryhill and Abigail Cachero, while Ashton Anderson, who has the ability to play the setter position as well, returns for her sophomore season. Tulsa also welcomes its third junior college transfer Alyssa LaMont, who also comes to the Hurricane from Blinn College.

Berryhill recorded 557 digs (4.76 digs per set) and 82 assists (0.70 assists per set), while playing
31 matches and 117 sets last season. She'll provide experience and leadership for the Hurricane as she expected to start at the libero position again. Cachero returns to the Hurricane roster after playing in 11 matches and 31 sets, while posting 40 total digs. She has experience and the ability to provide contribution to the back row this season.

Anderson comes back for her sophomore season with Tulsa after playing in 28 matches and 106 sets where she tallied 226 digs. With the capability to play the setter position, she immediately becomes a threat for the Hurricane

LaMont was named to the 2014 NJCAA All-Tournament team after averaging 10.5 digs in the tournament.

The Schedule
Tulsa tips off the season this weekend at Nebraska's tournament with the season-opening match against three-time National Champion Nebraska.

The Nebraska Invitational, Aug. 28-29, is the first of four tournaments for the Hurricane in 2015. Tulsa travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to play in the Bama Bash the following weekend, before returning home to host the Hurricane Classic at Donald W. Reynolds Center on Sept. 11-12. A week later, Sept. 18-19, the Hurricane hosts the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational.

"Playing teams like Nebraska and Alabama will challenge us, and we are going to see things we haven't seen before," said Wills. "It really prepares us because we get a chance to get to know one another and play against some great teams before opening conference play where we'll have 20 matches to compete for a championship."

Tulsa begins conference play on the road with a three-game swing against Tulane, Houston and SMU. The Hurricane then hosts its first American Athletic Conference game at the Reynolds Center against East Carolina (Oct. 4) and hosts UConn and Temple in the next two games.

The Hurricane will play seven more home and road games in the league schedule to close out the regular season.

Take a Look at the Tulsa Volleyball Team

Players Mentioned

Trinity Alualu

Ashton Anderson

Alissa Apecechea

Brooke Berryhill

Sophie Bethke

Erica Bohannon

Abigail Cachero

Ebony Carter

Ashley Hooper

Alyssa LaMont

Rachel Moore

Nicole Newton

Paige Panfil

Jaime Rahilly

Rebecca Reeve

Emily Thorson

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