Tulsa
ORU
Volleyball Defeats Oral Roberts 3-1 in Rivalry Match
10/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 7, 2008
Final Stats
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TULSA, Okla. - Junior outside hitter Jennifer Eichler recorded 15 kills and hit an incredible .636 for the match and sophomore middle hitter Hannah Stout added 13 kills to lead The University of Tulsa volleyball over cross-town rival Oral Roberts 3-1 (25-13, 16-25, 25-19, 25-15) Tuesday evening at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
With the victory, the Golden Hurricane avenges a 3-2 loss at the hands of ORU in September and moves to 16-4 on the season, while Oral Roberts falls to 11-6 on the season. The match was the fifth straight between the two schools that has gone either four or five sets, adding drama and providing excitement to the intra-Tulsa rivalry.
Eichler recorded 15 kills, while committing just one attack error in 22 attempts to hit a season-high .636 attack percentage. It was the highest attack percentage for a Hurricane player - with at least three attacks per set - since Stout hit .615 in September of 2007. Stout, for her part in the match contributed 13 kills, and both Eichler and Stout were aided by freshman setter Rachel Vukson's 45 assists. Senior libero Malorey Grove recorded 17 digs and senior defensive player Kelsey Wood added 14, while junior middle hitter Julia Kenealy blocked five ORU attacks and Stout added four on their way to nine team blocks.
"It was nice to get a win against ORU after a tough 3-2 loss at their place earlier in the season," said Tulsa head coach Ed Allen. "It wasn't a pretty win, but Jennifer Eichler made a huge step forward in her ability to terminate balls for us. Both of our middle hitters (Stout and Kenealy) are continuing to put up very good numbers in matches. Those two provided some positives along with Jennifer Eichler's phenomenal performance."
As a team, Tulsa hit .274 for the match, while holding Oral Roberts to just a .066 attack percentage, committing 29 attack errors. TU recorded 52 kills, had 49 assists and dug 59 attacks. Kenealy also added eight kills and hit .375 for the Hurricane.
The first set was all Tulsa, as the home team led from the start and broke a 6-6 tie with an 11-3 run. With the score 18-13 in favor of Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane scored the final seven points of the set to win 25-13. TU got long serves from both Wood and freshman defensive player Thaise Vieira, as Wood served four straight points and Vieira served the final six of the set, and eight total Tulsa points during the set.
ORU took the second set, bolstered by a 10-2 run to give the Golden Eagles a 15-5 lead. Tulsa only got as close as seven points the rest of the way and ORU won the set by a score of 25-16. The third set played much closer, as the largest lead by either team was the final margin of six points. ORU went ahead early and led TU by a score of 16-13, when the Hurricane scored four straight points to go ahead. When it was down three points, Tulsa used a 12-3 run to take the set 25-19.
Tulsa dominated the fourth set and never trailed, with its lead growing steadily throughout the set. The Golden Hurricane won the first point on a Stout kill and ORU scored one to tie at one apiece, before TU ran off seven of the next nine points to lead 8-3 with a kill by freshman outside hitter Kelsey Hancock, when Oral Roberts called a timeout. The break did not seem to faze the Hurricane, as Vukson promptly served an ace, and TU reeled off an 8-3 run to take a 16-6 lead when ORU called their second and final timeout of the set after a kill by Eichler. The rest of the set was peppered by a mixture of kills by Stout, Kenealy and sophomore outside hitter Emma Ridley, and attack errors by both squads. In perhaps an appropriate way to end the match, ORU's Joanita Souza hit the ball out of play for the final Tulsa point, as the Hurricane won the set 25-15 and took the match three sets to one.
The Golden Hurricane returns to action this weekend with a pair of home Conference USA matches starting Friday when it entertains Tulane at 7 p.m. and UTEP at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All Tulsa home volleyball matches are free to the public. All Golden Hurricane news and information can be found on the web at www.TulsaHurricane.com.
