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Tulsa
Oral Roberts
ORU Defeats Tulsa, 3-1, in Volleyball Action
8/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 30, 2006
Tulsa, Okla. - The University of Tulsa volleyball team held leads in all four games of its volleyball match against Oral Roberts on Wednesday night. However the Golden Hurricane could not get over the hump as the Golden Eagles won the cross-town match, 3-1 (30-28, 30-27, 28-30, 30-28). It was a night of firsts as ORU picked up its first win of the season to improve to 1-3 on the year, while TU fell for the first time this season to 3-1.
ORU was led by senior Ori Zuzic with a match-high 28 kills. Junior Kassiana Urnau led the Hurricane with 22 kills also. Both team's setters also posted over 50 assists for the match, as ORU's Thais Parada recorded 58 and TU's Julia Silva finished with 52.
Early errors cost TU in the first game, as the Hurricane committed nine hitting errors, two serving errors, a receiving error and a ball-handling error. On the flipside, ORU recorded a .292 hitting percentage during the first stanza with 18 kills.
The Hurricane was able to minimize its errors in the second game, committing only seven hiccups. However ORU posted 22 kills in the game, compared to 15 by TU. Zuzic again had six of the Golden Eagles' kills, as she also had six in the first game. However in game two, ORU was added by six kills by fellow senior Maja Devic in the middle.
The third game was much like the first two, with 10 ties and five lead changes. Neither team was able to hold a substantial lead, as the biggest margin was six points. TU led 15-9 following a pair of kills by senior Germana Hilario. However, ORU was able to scratch its way back into the game, tying it 20-20 on a Zuzic kill. After another Zuzic kill, the Eagles led 24-20 and seemed to have the momentum to finish off the match. Tulsa rallied to score 10 of the final 14 points and extend the match to a fourth game.
In the final stanza, TU had all the momentum in the beginning, as the Hurricane roared out to a 9-3 lead. An attack error by the Hurricane allowed ORU to eventually tie the game at 12-12. After the Eagles took a 21-18 lead, TU fought back to tie the game at 25-25 with an ORU attack error. Tulsa even took a 28-27 led before a hitting error and a pair of Zuzic kills ended the match.
Urnau also posted 28 digs for Tulsa, recording her second double-double of the season. Silva also had a double-double with 22 digs. As a team, Tulsa recorded 100 digs, with four players reaching double-digits.
Tulsa will hit the road this weekend for the Centenary/ Econo Lodge Classic in Shreveport, La. The Golden Hurricane will return home on Sept. 24th with a Conference USA match against UCF at 1 p.m.
