Tulsa Dropped Four-Setter Against SMU on Senior Day

Wednesday, November 22

Reynolds Center

2:00 pm

Tulsa

14-17, 4-7American

SMU

21-9, 15-4American

SMU

Tulsa

Tulsa Dropped Four-Setter Against SMU on Senior Day

11/22/2017 6:26:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

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TULSA, Okla. – The Golden Hurricane (14-17, 4-7 American) played its last home match of the season Wednesday, on a day we honored our seniors. Tulsa faced American Athletic Conference foe SMU (21-9, 15-4 American). Taylor Horsfall collected 24 digs and set a new single-season conference record for digs in the process, but TU fell to SMU, 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21).

The Mustangs jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but the Hurricane battled back and eventually tied the opening set, 10-10. With the score tied at 13-13, Tulsa went on a 4-0 run and took a 17-13 lead. SMU managed to score four unanswered of its own to tie the set at 17-17. Despite being down 24-22, the Golden Hurricane was resilient and stormed back as it won four consecutive points, to win the first set, 26-24. Emily Thorson led the attack with six kills, while Rachel Moore added four kills. Mariah Pardo racked up 15 assists in the opening stanza. Taylor Horsfall notched seven digs and Emily Hubbard chipped in with five digs. Thorson added a block assist and a solo block, for two total blocks.

The Mustangs started the second frame with a 5-3 run, but the Golden Hurricane answered with four straight points to take a 7-5 lead. The Hurricane extended its lead to 15-10, but SMU would tie the second set at 18-18. The Mustangs took would go on to win the second set, 25-23, to tie the match at 1-1 heading into the break. Thorson and Callie Cook each earned four kills to lead TU in the second. Pardo added double-digit assists with 10. Ashton Anderson led the TU defense with six digs. Hubbard and Pardo chipped in with four digs each. Cook and Pardo each recorded a block assist.

After the intermission, the Hurricane jumped out to a 5-2 lead, before SMU tied the set at 7-7. The Mustangs built up an 18-14 lead, but TU did not give up and went on to tie the set at 21-21. The two teams traded points and with the score tied at 22-22, SMU scored three of the last four points to win the third set, 25-23. Pardo assisted on 12 kills for a set high. Horsfall scooped up a set-high eight digs. Thorson led the attack with six kills and added five digs. Cook led the TU defense at the net with two block assists.

Anderson led the Tulsa defense with eight digs in the fourth set. Horsfall added six digs. Pardo tallied seven assists. Thorson led the attack with four kills and Moore added three kills. Thorson and Cook each had a block assist in the set. With the score at 5-4, the Golden Hurricane went on a 3-0 run to extend its lead to 8-4. Tulsa increased its lead to 16-12, before SMU tied the set at 18-18. The Mustangs used that momentum to win the fourth set, 25-21.

As a whole, SMU finished the match with 93 digs, 53 kills, 53 assists, and 13 team blocks. Brittany Adams led the Mustangs with 15 kills. Kendall Patterson paced SMU with 44 assists and Montana Watts had a match-high 27 digs.

Thorson recorded a match-high 20 kills and added 13 digs for her 15th double-double. Horsfall's team-high 24 digs contributed to her breaking The American single-season mark for digs. Horsfall has a season total of 737 digs. The previous conference record was 721. Pardo achieved her 11th double-double on the season, as she led the team with 44 assists and collected 14 digs. Anderson finished the match with 16 digs. Hubbard also accumulated double-digit digs with 12. Cook and Thorson each finished with four total blocks. As a team, the Golden Hurricane combined for 85 digs, 51 kills, 48 assists, and nine total blocks.

Tulsa fell to 14-17 overall and 4-7 in conference play. The Golden Hurricane returns to the court on Friday, Nov. 24, as it travels to SMU to conclude the regular season. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.