Tulsa
SMU
Tulsa Opens C-USA Play at SMU with Win
9/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2006
Dallas, Texas - The University of Tulsa volleyball squad opened Conference USA play on a positive note Tuesday night, scoring a 3-0 (30-25, 30-22, 30-21) win over SMU at Moody Coliseum. The Golden Hurricane was predicted to finish fourth by the leagues coaches, while the Mustangs were selected to finish third. The win is not only the first time TU has won its conference opener, it is also the first time Tulsa has swept SMU in Dallas.
Senior Germana Hilario led the Golden Hurricane attack with 16 kills, while junior Fabiola Nepomuceno posted career-bests with 15 kills and a .714 hitting percentage. Junior Julia Silva reached the 40-assist plateau once again with 43, while sophomore Kelsey Wood led TU with 15 digs. Tulsa also used the service ace to its advantage, hitting nine aces as a team. Sophomore Malorey Grove hit her team-best 22nd ace of the season, as she was part of a trio that posted three aces on the evening. Junior Kassiana Urnau, who barely missed her eighth double-double of the season with nine kills and nine digs, and Nepomuceno also registered three aces.
"It is very rewarding to start conference play with a road win, especially with a 3-0 win," said TU Head Coach Ed Allen. "The team played very balanced offensively and very tenaciously on defense tonight. The hitters made smart choices and saw the floor very well. They did not make a lot of errors and were able to use the shots that the defense gave us."
In the first game, the Golden Hurricane scored first on a kill by Hilario and would not relinquish the lead. SMU tied the game at 1-1, 5-5 and 23-23, however the Hurricane would score the next point each time. Tulsa's largest lead of the stanza would be six points at 15-9.
The second game would be much like the first, with the teams trading the first four points of the game. Eventually, SMU would take a 15-9 and 17-11 leads in the contest. Tulsa battled back to forge an 18-18 tie, then took the lead for good on a kill by Nepomuceno. Her kill was part of a nine point run for the Hurricane, during which Nepomuceno recorded two kills and two service aces. Tulsa went on to score 12 of the last 16 points for the win.
The final stanza started out much like the first two, with the teams trading the opening points before TU opened a 6-3 lead. SMU pulled within 6-5 on a kill by Caitlin Rainbird, however that would be as close as the Mustangs would get. A pair of kills by Nepomuceno and a block would spark a six point TU run, expanding the lead to 12-5. TU would expand the lead even further at 27-18, with a five point run helped by three SMU attacking errors.
Tulsa now travels to Bronx, N.Y., for the Rose Hill Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16. TU will face St. Peter's, Maine, New Jersey Institute of Technology and host Fordham at the round-robin event.
